In the Darkness
by Falcons-Tears
Summary: Nathan is an unmated Vampire. He has set his eyes on one of his team, but since only Sophie knows his secret, he's afraid to claim him, until Moreau, a Werewolf appears and sets his eyes on Nate's chosen SLASH/AU, PLEASE READ A/N SPOILERS FOR BIG BANG JOB
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay, I hope you won't hate me for this AU fic, but a very good friend of mine asked me to write this for her and since she was there for me through one of the toughest times in my life, I couldn't say no to her...**This is set during the Big Bang Job, even though it goes AU as soon as Eliot and Hardison meet with Moreau... it's a vampire/werewolf AU and it's slash**... so yeah... if you don't like that kind of story, you probably should turn around now.

And just for the record, I loved "The Big Bang Job" and wouldn't change it for anything... Eliot going all Neo was brilliant *g*

But for this story I had to change it... so I hope you can forgive me...

Maybe you will like it... I really hope you do... and comments would be most appreciated *smiles hopefully* but please don't forget that English isn't my native language, so there are surely some grammar mistakes... I hope they aren't too bad.

And I'm not sure if the dialogue I took from The Big Bang Job is totally correct, so please forgive any mistakes...

And I also hope I haven't stolen any ideas, since I haven't read many vampire/werewolf AU's, no matter which fandom... and I probably wouldn't have written one if my friend hadn't asked me to do so, so if I'm stealing any storylines please let me know and I'll change my story... and I still haven't been able to see every episode, so sorry if I got some details wrong *sheepish smile*

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**IMPORTANT SUMMARY (Please read):** Werewolves and vampires are a part of the society, even though they are more powerful than humans, but generally humans get along with them very well. Werewolves and Vampires mostly keep their distance from each other, since there's a peace treaty between them, which has existed for three hundred years now, ever since the Eldest vampires found a way for the vampires to go outside even during daytime.

Werewolves can change whenever they want to (I'm using Tanya Huffs Blood Ties definition of werewolves here, so yeah o.O) and they life in packs with an Alpha (just like real wolves do) and all Alphas together decide about law and punishment... the circle of Alphas can only decide important things when they're all gathered... every werewolf is allowed to ask the Alphas to gather to plead their case.

Vampires still have a king, who is a descendant of the first vampires and hence very powerful. Every vampire can challenge the king for the throne, but it most likely results in their death, except the vampire is of the same blood and possesses equal strength.

The vampire king's son has the first right to challenge his father for the throne.

It's very rare for Vampires and Werewolves to want to mate with a human without turning them... and if a human gets the offer to become the mate of a werewolf or a vampire it's a big honor... gender doesn't matter if a werewolf or a vampire look for a mate...

The Leverage Team exists and they have done all the cases they have done in the series, only Nate is a vampire and Sophie is too and they have fought and worked together with vampires and werewolves on some cases...

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**SUMMARY II:** Nathan is a vampire prince, who has yet to find his true mate... he has set his eyes on one of his team members, but since only Sophie knows his secret, he's afraid to pursue his chosen one... until Damien Moreau, an Alpha Werewolf appears and sets his sights on Eliot, Nate's chosen one... and well, Vampires are possessive bastards, but unfortunately so are Werewolves (AU & Slash, please read the A/N)

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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**In the Darkness**

**Chapter 1

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"Why did ya tell them your real name?"

Hardison stared at Eliot, still in disbelief after what had just happened. The team made an effort to avoid giving anyone their real name.

He could see Eliot's shoulder tense and his eyes were a little downcast.

"Just stick close to me, okay? This might get messy," The Hitter murmured, still avoiding to look at his teammate and friend.

Eliot didn't like this situation one bit and he wished to be everywhere but here, so that he could just forget about Damien Moreau and everything that he associated with the name.

Under normal circumstances Eliot would have come alone to confront Moreau, but to be honest, he was a little afraid what seeing Damien Moreau again after all those years would do to him.

And with Hardison there to protect, Eliot had someone else to focus on other than only Moreau.

He still ignored Hardison's gaze on him while they were escorted down to the pool area to meet with Damien Moreau.

The little staredown with Chapman, his replacement, helped Eliot to further focus on what was important and also helped to ignore the churning of his stomach as soon as Moreau stepped out of the sauna.

Eliot saw Moreau stop in surprise for a second when he unexpectedly came face to face with his former enforcer again.

But the tall, dark haired man recovered quickly and Eliot saw his eyes flash yellow for a second and Eliot resisted the urge to take a step backwards.

He had a reputation to uphold after all... and showing Moreau that he was intimidated by his presence was equal to signing a death sentence for Moreau, because the wolf in Moreau would take advantage at every sign of weakness.

Yes, Damien Moreau was a werewolf... a powerful pack leader at that... that was what made him so good at what he did and gave him the undivided loyalty of most of his men.

Eliot had found out the hard way to never mess with an Alpha as strong as Moreau, especially when you were only human.

And Eliot had fled from Moreau as soon as the older man had made it clear that he wanted Eliot to be his mate.

There was just no way in hell that Eliot would mate with a wolf or a man like Moreau was one, no matter that it was an honor if an Alpha chose a human as his mate.

It wasn't that Eliot was totally against mating with a werewolf, or a vampire for that matter, he had worked for Alpha vampires too after all and he had had his fair share of offers to get mated with a werewolf or a vampire, even though he had no real idea why.

But he had never really been interested in submitting to the ones that offered, because he was an independent man and not willing to submit to just anybody as a mate.

And Moreau, even though he was one of the few people that managed to intimidate Eliot and could probably, well no more like certainly force him to submit, there was no way he'd get involved with a man like Moreau, who didn't care who got killed as long as it gave him money. And even though Eliot certainly was no saint and had done his fair share of terrible deeds, there were things even he shied away from... even though he'd been forced to cross that line once while he still worked for Moreau, that was shortly before Damien had first told him he wanted to mate.

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This was another reason why Eliot had tried his best to avoid a confrontation between his team and Damien Moreau, especially between Nathan and Damien, because he knew that would only end in disaster and the death of one of the two and Eliot feared that it might be Nate's death.

The Hitter focused his attention on Moreau and when he saw the predatory glint in Moreau's eyes, Eliot realized that it would end in disaster anyway, now that Moreau had seen Eliot again.

He was well aware of the fact that the werewolf was still not over the fact that Eliot had refused to be mated with him and it had taken six months to shake off Moreau's men from his trail and now he had willingly stepped into Damien's life again.

He was forced to watch passively as Moreau's men, well some of them were werewolves too, cuffed Hardison to a chair.

Well, at least he was still free, even though he wasn't exactly sure if that was a good or a bad sign.

Not showing emotions at the rough handling of his friend was the hardest thing Eliot had done in quite a while, except having to face Moreau again.

But Eliot needed to stay calm, because the last thing he needed, was for Moreau to find out how exactly the Hitter felt about the team, that they were so much more than just people he worked with.

That would give the other man even more of an advantage than he already had.

"You work alone," Moreau stated and Eliot was surprised to hear a hint of accusation in his voice, because this was the reason Eliot had given Moreau for refusing his proposal, stating that he was a loner.

And then he had fled before Moreau had decided that he didn't care about Eliot's wishes and would have forced him.

"Thing's change," he replied, forcing himself to still remain calm, his arms crossed in front of his chest, so that nobody could see that his hands were shaking slightly.

There was another flash of yellow in Damien's eyes and Eliot was well aware that the other man's wolf was still not really over the fact that the Hitter had refused his proposal.

The small talk Eliot and Moreau had exchanged had obviously helped Hardison to get over his shock that his teammate and the crime lord knew each other.

The Hacker fell back into the role he had chosen, complete with horrible french accent.

After Eliot had made it clear that he was only guarding a middle man, telling Moreau that he would be gone as soon as the job was done, Hardison got back into conversation.

He informed Moreau that his supposed client wanted in on the auction on whatever Moreau wanted to sell.

But the werewolf barely looked at Hardison while he talked, his predatory eyes remaining on Eliot, even while he listened to what the Hacker had to say.

Eliot squared his shoulders, refusing to show Moreau how much of an effect he still had on him.

But he barely managed to stop himself from jumping into the pool when Moreau pushed Hardison into it and then try to kill the wolf, which would probably only result in his and Hardison's death.

So all he could do was remain calm and trust his friend to hold on until him and Damien had finished talking.

At least he knew the kind of games Moreau liked to play and he was pretty sure that he didn't want to kill Hardison, at least not since he still thought he was a possible client.

And even though his voice was even when he explained to Moreau about his supposed client, his panic increased with every passing second and he was relieved to hear the splashing of the water behind him, because that meant Hardison was still alive and conscious.

And the Hacker depended on Eliot to find a way out, so the Hitter didn't hesitate to agree when Moreau ordered him to kill Atherton as a test of loyalty.

He could do that if it meant to keep his team, his new-found family, safe.

As soon as Eliot nodded, Moreau's lips twitched into a predatory smile and he took a step closer to Eliot, extending his hand to seal the deal.

Eliot raised his own hand and shook Moreau's, even though he didn't want to.

"After it's done Chapman will bring you back here and I'll give you the information about the auction," Moreau growled, his voice low, squeezing Eliot's hand tighter, making even the Hitter wince in pain, since Moreau's wolf gave him a severe advantage strength-wise if Damien let him lose even just a little.

This told Eliot that the meeting after the kill was non-negotiable and even though he didn't really want to meet with the Alpha werewolf again, especially alone, he could only nod.

"I'll be here," he replied, hoping that his voice didn't betray his uneasiness.

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Moreau grinned, this time it was clearly his wolf showing through and he still didn't let go of Eliot's hand as if he wanted to prove something, but to the Hitter's relief Damien nodded to one of his men and the man in question threw the keys to the handcuffs into the pool.

Eliot could breath more freely again when he heard Hardison cough and climb out of the pool, soaking wet but okay otherwise.

"What message I should bring back to my employer?" Hardison questioned, drying his face with a handkerchief that was also soaking wet and Eliot was honestly impressed that his younger team member was able to hold his own and not completely freak out after nearly drowning.

The Hitter knew that he would need to make it up to Hardison that he'd put him in such a dangerous situation.

Moreau only laughed and pointed at Hardison, while still staring at Eliot.

"I like this one," he stated and Eliot saw the bait behind his words and it took all his willpower to still remain calm and not tell Moreau that he would kill him, if his wolf ever came near Hardison in any way, no matter if it got himself killed too.

When Eliot refused to take the bait, Moreau sobered a little and became all businesslike again.

"Glad we could strike a deal... reminds me of the old great."

With one last look at Eliot Moreau turned around, dismissing the two and Eliot quickly ushered Hardison out of there and to safety, ignoring the other man's ramblings and rantings, his mind still reeling with what had just happened.

He had the sudden feeling that they were really in over their heads this time and Eliot didn't really want to think about what Nathan would say when he found out that Eliot had knowingly put Hardison's life in danger.

Eliot now regretted that he had gone to strike the deal with Moreau, because he probably had made things even more dangerous than before by awakening the most dangerous of instincts in Moreau's wolf, since he was pretty sure that the werewolf would still love to claim him as his mate.

He ran a wary hand over his face, avoiding to look at Hardison, trying to figure out what exactly to tell the team when they got to the meeting point.

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* * *

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Nathan Ford was anxiously waiting for Eliot and Hardison to return from their meeting with Damien Moreau, only half listening to Parker's and Sophie's discussion about the plans they had stolen from Atherton.

Nate hadn't liked the idea of Hardison and especially Eliot going anywhere near Moreau, but he knew it was necessary to complete their job and finally bring Moreau down.

He hadn't liked Eliot's behavior after it became obvious that they would have to go after Moreau.

And then there was the fact that Nate, for the past two months or so, didn't like to let Eliot out of his sight for long periods of time.

He knew exactly why that was the case, even though it was still hard to acknowledge the fact.

Nathan Ford was a vampire, a powerful one at that, a descendant of the most powerful vampire families, his ancestor one of the first vampires ever.

But not many people knew that, not even many vampires knew how powerful Nathan was, since he had never made an effort to work his way up in vampire society to challenge their current king and his own father for his right to the throne.

Nate just wasn't interested in that kind of power. He enjoyed his current job much more and loved the people he worked with. They had become some sort of surrogate clan, even though only Sophie knew his secret, since she was a vampire too, a dominant one, leading to them often fighting about leadership of the team.

Until one day Nate had become tired of that and had dropped his vampire family name. When he had done that Sophie had needed a few months away to come to terms with the fact that she worked with the future vampire king and she had left the team for a while.

But then she had decided that working with Nate could only be to her benefit if he decided to one day take what was his birth right and she had come back.

And Nathan had been glad for that, because he genuinely liked Sophie and for a while had contemplated making her his mate just to appease his father.

But he couldn't do that, not when he had found the one he wanted to be mated with.

Eliot was, as far as Nathan knew, completely unaware of the fact that he had become the object of Nate's affection, and even worse the possessiveness of his vampire side.

His demon had wanted to claim Eliot as his mate more than once since they'd started working together, the desire ever increasing for the past months.

But Nate had always reigned his vampire in, because his team, well except Sophie, didn't know that he was a vampire and he didn't want to upset and maybe use them if they didn't want to work with a vampire, especially since Parker hadn't had the best past with vampires.

He just didn't want to upset the balance of the team and lose the people he had started to consider his clan.

And the most important reason why he hadn't made his move on Eliot was, that he was pretty sure that Eliot wouldn't want to be claimed by Nathan.

He was too independent to submit to anyone and he only would do so if he really wanted to or if he was forced.

And Nate wasn't even sure if Eliot liked men that way.

But lately, every time Eliot came home after a date with some girl, smelling of her perfume, it was nearly impossible for Nate to reign in his vampiric side and to stop himself from bending Eliot over the nearest available surface and mark him until only Nate's scent remained on his Hitter and until Eliot knew exactly who he belonged to... his vampire wanted Eliot to know that he belonged to Nathan and nobody else, even if he wasn't aware of it yet.

And despite Eliot being a strong man and an exceptional fighter, Nathan knew that the younger man wouldn't have a choice but to submit to Nate if he gave his vampire free reign.

He knew what he was capable of doing and had used his powers sometimes to avoid cons going wrong, for example when Mitchell Kirkwood had sent his two goons to beat the shit out of Nate, his vampire side had persuaded them to knock each other out instead.

But Nate would never do something like that to Eliot, he would rather sent him away than hurt him like that.

.

So he tried to reign in his vampire and ignore his desires as much as he could, but he still couldn't help the ever growing possessiveness where his Hitter was concerned.

Why this was the case, Nathan didn't really know.

Eliot was only a human and it was a rare thing for a vampire to find a human that he wanted to mate with without the desire to turn him into a vampire too...

Well, Nathan had known from the first moment that he'd laid eyes on Eliot, that this human was special.

Maggie, his ex-wife, well by human standards at least and a vampire too, who he had loved, but had never wanted to take that last step and mate with her for real, marking her as his, had told him when she had seen how Nate felt about Eliot when they'd worked together, to go for it and to find happiness.

She had told him that it was his right as a future vampire king, here Nate had protested and told her that he didn't ever want to be king, to mate with a human and that she too had felt that Eliot was special when she had first seen him.

But Nathan still didn't understand why he felt so drawn to Eliot and he had promised himself to talk to one of the Eldest about it, a circle of vampires that had answers to almost all questions and kept their prophecies and traditions, what this need to mate with his Hitter meant. Three hundred years ago the Eldest had also found the serum that allowed all the vampires to walk in the sun as long as they drank a cup of it an hour before sunset.

And until Nate had answers why Eliot appealed to him so much, he sure as hell wouldn't try to seduce Eliot into his bed, or so he thought... since he had no idea how drastically things were about to change.

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Nathan let out a breath of relief he hadn't even realized he had been holding, when he saw Eliot and Hardison walk towards them, both looking unhurt... not that breathing was necessary for him anyway, but he still did it for appearance sake.

But Nate's eyes narrowed when he sensed the tension between both men and saw the way Hardison glared at Eliot.

Nathan concentrated on his Hitter to find out what was wrong and then a scent hit him... it was clinging to Eliot and his eyes narrowed even more, his vampire going mad with jealousy and anger.

It was the unmistakable scent of a werewolf... and not just any werewolf... no, it was the scent of a powerful Alpha.

His jealousy rose even more. An Alpha had dared to touch his potential mate, had dared to start to lay claim on Eliot... and Nate fought all his instincts to hunt that werewolf down.

He once again reigned in his vampire side because he knew that right now he couldn't let his demon run wild or it would only end in disaster.

At first he needed to find out what exactly had happened and then he could decide what to do about the werewolf... he didn't even know if Eliot was actually aware that he had encountered an Alpha werewolf... it was hard for humans to detect a vampire or a werewolf and even though Eliot knew exactly what to look for, Alphas had the ability to mask their wolf even better than normal wolves.

"Tell'em what you did, Eliot."

Hardison's sharp voice brought Nate out of his thoughts and helped him to concentrate on their job.

"You risked my life."

Those words made Sophie, Nate and Parker stare at Eliot in shock and they all hoped that Eliot would defend himself.

But instead he only told them, without really looking at anybody: "We're in. Moreau is gonna give me the details of the auction tomorrow."

That was even more of a surprise and Sophie of course asked why Moreau would give the details to Eliot and not to Hardison.

The Hitter didn't really answer, instead he just insisted that they were in and they needed to make a plan.

But Hardison obviously didn't want to let this go and his next words stunned the rest of the team into silence.

"Eliot worked with Moreau back in the day...a lot."

As soon as the words were out of Hardison's mouth, Nathan made the connection and his eyes narrowed, jealousy returning full force.

Moreau was the werewolf he had smelled and he had dared to touch Eliot, trying to claim him... and they had a history...

Eliot didn't even try to stop Hardison. He just stared into space, obviously lost in a memory.

And Nate stood up from the bench he had been sitting on and let out his anger and jealousy for once.

"We've been chasing Moreau for six months and you didn't tell us."

Nate's words were relatively calm but his eyes told a different story and if Eliot had dared to look Nate in the eyes right at that moment he would have seen the red gleam in them.

When he finally did, Nathan had reigned in his vampire again.

"'cause I was trying to find a way around it, alright," he defended himself, but for once Nathan wasn't willing to hear him out.

"So you were protecting him?" Nate questioned, the jealousy barely contained in his voice, anger and rage rushing through him in waves.

And there was also the fear that Eliot might chose to accept Moreau's offer to become his mate... it was an honor after all... but Eliot's next words stunned him into silence.

"I'm protecting you... cause last time I checked that's my job."

Nathan's anger quickly turned to compassion. He knew how hard Eliot worked to protect them all... how many bruises he had endured for the team.

And suddenly Nate felt guilty... it was his job to protect his clan and he had left that responsibility solely to Eliot because he was too much of a coward to tell them he was a vampire.

His voice was almost soft when he assured: "Look, we can handle Moreau."

And somehow he was confident that they could... his team had two powerful vampires on their side after all.

Eliot merely stared at him and his voice was guarded when he spoke again.

"We're out of our league, Nate. Everyone of Moreau's men has innocent blood on their hands, every one of them... every one of them are worse than me..."

Eliot stopped for a second, his voice shaking when he finally continued: "The worst thing I ever did in my entire life I did for Damien Moreau and I... I'll never be clean of that..."

Nathan's heart went out to Eliot. He had never seen the Hitter so vulnerable and Nathan knew that it had been incredible hard to admit that to his team.

And the look in Eliot's eyes when he pleaded with Parker not to ask him about what he had done would hunt Nate for quite a while.

And the vampire in him raged, wanting him to claim Eliot, to show him how much he was loved and appreciated and then go after Damien Moreau and rip him apart for putting that hunted look in his chosen mate's eyes.

Eliot's next words did nothing to ease the rage inside of him.

"And after I went against everything I ever believed in, no matter what horrible things I've done, I wasn't ready to cross that line, Damien told me that I had passed the final test and he offered me to become his mate. That's when I left his organization, much to his displeasure..."

"His mate?" Hardison stared at Eliot and something seemed to have clicked in his brain... something he seemed to have missed earlier and suddenly his anger vanished.

Sophie was on her feet.

"Moreau is a vampire?" She questioned, not sure what to make of this new development, because if he was, things would get a lot more complicated.

Nathan, who barely had control of his vampire right now, shook his head.

"No, he's a werewolf... an Alpha," he growled, taking a step closer to Eliot, who only stared at him, searching his face for something.

"How do ya know?" he questioned, his stance getting defensive.

"I can smell him on you... and let me tell you, I don't like his smell on you... not one bit."

Nathan knew that his voice was even more of a growl right now and finally he gave in to his vampire for right now... his eyes turning red and his fangs were showing.

Eliot took a step back and his eyes widened.

"You're a vampire," Parker piped in, hurt and betrayal in his voice.

But Nathan ignored her for now, he'd deal with that fallout later. Right now only Eliot mattered.

"But he will never claim you as his mate."

Nate was breathing heavily and Eliot took another step backwards, feeling intimidated for the second time that day, not sure what to make of Nate's sudden behavior and the reveal that he was a vampire.

Nathan obviously didn't like Eliot putting distance between them, because Eliot suddenly felt himself backed up against the huge tree behind him, Nate pinning him there, his mouth directly beside Eliot's ear.

"He'll never claim you as his mate, because you belong to me..."

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to be continued if you don't hate me now and are still interested...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Wow, I'm really happy that you liked the first chapter that much *g* So I decided to type down the second chapter and post it this soon.

And I hope you will like the second chapter too *smiles* I know it's a lot shorter than the first chapter, but this is about the usual chapter length for me, so I hope you don't mind *sheepish smile*

Comments are most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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Thank you to** FightMasterSlay, Jesco123, The Flea, Madeleine** (nein ich hab bestimmt nichts gegen deutsches Feedback *g*),** for2rusty, GalynSolo and Kaz-za-15** for all your kind words for the first chapter *hugs*

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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**Chapter 2

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Eliot was too stunned by Nathan's sudden move so that he had no chance to defend himself and stop the vampire from roughly shoving him against the tree.

A shudder ran through him when Nate whispered into his ear that he wanted to claim him as his mate himself.

The Hitter felt Nathan's breath ghost over his neck and he knew it would only be seconds until he would sink his fangs into Eliot's neck.

And that revelation spurred Eliot into almost frantic action, because there was no way in hell he would let this happen, at least not like this... not here shoved roughly against a tree, his friends watching with part horror and part awe.

The Hitter gathered all his strength and roughly pushed Nate away, but surprised when it actually worked.

Nathan was too surprised by Eliot's actions to put up much resistance and he stumbled backwards, too shocked that Eliot actually dared to push him away to use his superior vampire strength to keep the younger man pinned against the tree.

He growled low in his throat and was about to crowd in on Eliot's personal space again when he suddenly saw the haunted and betrayed look in his Hitters eyes...

And even Nate's vampire was horrified at what he had been about to do to the man he claimed to love and care about... he had nearly bonded with Eliot against the other man's will and without warning.

Being overwhelmed with jealousy because he had scented that a werewolf had touched him was no excuse, not when it was Eliot he had nearly hurt, and mating with him without the Hitter's consent would have hurt Eliot.

Eliot still stared at Nate, breathing heavily, his whole posture tense, almost as if he was readying himself for a new attack. The retrieval specialist still couldn't believe that he hadn't realized that Nathan was a vampire before.

He had worked with enough of them to see the signs, but he had to admit that he was a bit blinded where Nate was concerned, because he cared so much about the older man that he had ignored any signs and feelings he might have seen and have had.

What had shocked him even more and had been hard to come to terms with was, that Nathan obviously wanted to claim him as his mate.

This, to Eliot's immense surprise, wasn't an entirely unpleasant thought, but what made it harder to accept was, that Nate had been about to mark him without his permission.

And that had hurt. He had never thought that Nathan would do anything like that, that he would force Eliot.

And the Hitter was aware, that no matter how strong he was, Nathan could force him if he really wanted to, just like Moreau could do if he ever got the chance.

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"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sophie's voice stopped Eliot's inner monologue.

She stepped between Nathan and Eliot and that helped Nathan to regain control of his vampire, at least for now.

Eliot, suddenly exhausted, slumped back against the tree, waiting for Sophie to give Nathan a piece of her mind about his abuse of power.

But a second later he realized that the Grifter's question had been directed at him and not at Nate.

His eyes widened a little and the anger returned full force.

"Me? You're seriously asking me what I was doing, when Nate was about to claim me without my permission?" he questioned, trying to stay calm and focused and trying to ignore the sad look Nathan shot him.

Sophie put her hands on her hips and glared at Eliot.

"Well, I'm not too surprised that Nathan did... and it is bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Frankly what I'm surprised about is, that Nate has managed to hold back this long," she told him, her voice cold.

Eliot's eyes widened, because Sophie sounded like he had personally insulted her by refusing Nate's, well... advances.

And he was shocked that she had obviously been aware of the older man's desire for Eliot.

But he still wasn't ready to just submit... at least not like this and not here and now.

"I'm not some possession, Sophie. I'm a human and I get a say at who's going to lay claim on me, and just in case you have no idea what it means to be mated with a vampire I'm going to explain it to you," Eliot replied, still angry, but there was also so much hurt in his voice that Nathan was once again horrified at what he had nearly done to Eliot.

He felt like throwing up when he thought about how he had nearly marked Eliot against his will, something he had sworn he'd never do.

But before he could apologize to Eliot and beg him for a chance to make it up to him and maybe get Eliot to become his mate on his own free will, Sophie once again decided to speak up.

"Oh, I know exactly what being a mate to a vampire means, and you should be honored that a vampire, a prince on top of that, wants to mate with you," she informed harshly and suddenly Eliot understood why she had almost seemed insulted before.

The fact that Sophie had practically just told him how powerful Nate really was, totally escaped his consciousness when he asked: "You're a vampire too, aren't ya?"

Sophie nodded curtly, her fangs showing for just a second.

"Yeah, I am and if Nathan would have wanted me to, I would have bared my neck for him a long time ago, but unfortunately he doesn't want me to, because he has chosen you," she informed and Eliot couldn't help the wave of jealousy unexpectedly washing through him at Sophie's admission.

"Maybe I would have bared my neck too, if Nate would have told me that he was a vampire and that he was interested in mating with me."

Eliot's voice was soft, barely a whisper and Parker and Hardison had no chance of hearing them, but Sophie and Nate with their superior hearing had no problems picking it up.

And Nathan's eyes widened again and he couldn't help the flash of hope awakening within him at Eliot's words.

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Before he could talk to Eliot and find out where exactly he stood with the Hitter, Hardison decided that it was time to remind everybody of why they were here again.

He had used the time of Nathan, Sophie and Eliot fighting to study the plans and he had figured out what exactly he was looking at and that didn't really assure him in the least.

"Guys, or vampires, or whatever, I know that you have a lot to talk about, but we should really concentrate on the case again. We need to make a plan on how to stop Moreau from selling that bomb to god knows who."

That definitely got everybody's attention.

And the words finally enabled Nathan to look away from Eliot for the first time ever since he had come back from his meeting with Moreau.

He whirled around to stare at the youngest member of his team.

"A bomb?" he questioned, just to make sure that he had heard that right.

The Hacker shifted, obviously a little uncomfortable around Nathan, now that he had learned that the other was a vampire, but he still nodded his head.

"A very big bomb," he confirmed and launched into an explanation what kind of bomb they were dealing with.

.

Eliot was only half listening and breathed a sigh of relief when Nathan's attention was finally away from him for a while and he was kind of proud that Parker and Hardison were dealing so well with Sophie's and Nate's big revelation.

The Hitter knew that they all had a lot to talk about, but stopping Moreau was first priority.

He ignored Sophie's calculating look and went to sit down beside Parker, her presence somehow comforting him.

Parker immediately inched a little closer to Eliot, put a hand on his arm and smiled at him, a smile which Eliot found himself returning, despite all that had happened.

He still couldn't believe what had just happened and that Nate really was a vampire, a strong one on top of that, who seemed to want to mate with him.

And even though he had known Nathan for years now and considered him a very good friend, maybe even more than that, the Hitter wasn't entirely sure if Nate would take no for an answer should Eliot refuse another offer from him.

And Eliot also wasn't sure if he really wanted to say no if Nate made the offer again, even though he had no idea where that thought came from all of sudden.

Okay, he had never really given this scenario much thought, since he had had no idea that Nate was a vampire and interested in him.

Eliot resisted the urge to bury his head in his hands when he realized how fucked up this situation had become all of sudden.

He knew that he was now caught between a rock and a hard place, or better an Alpha Werewolf and a Vampire Prince.

This couldn't end well, of that Eliot was sure, because he, like everybody else, knew that vampires and werewolves were very possessive of their chosen mates, no matter if already marked or not.

And if Moreau still really wanted to mate with Eliot and found out that Nate was a vampire, who had set his eyes on Eliot too, this whole con would end in disaster, or even worse, in a full-blown vampire-werewolf war.

The Hitter still didn't understand what seemed to make him so attractive to vampires and werewolves and he really didn't like it that he suddenly had the close attention of an Alpha and a future Vampire King.

Eliot knew that he needed a plan and needed to take precautions, or this would turn out deadly for his team, because Moreau just had more men and wolves on his side, no matter how strong Sophie and Nate were... and the Hitter sure as hell wasn't prepared to let this happen. He cared too much about them all...

And he would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening, even if it meant offering himself to Moreau, even though he hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

All his instincts told Eliot to run and hide until this whole wanting-to-mate-with-Eliot-season was over, but he couldn't abandon his team, his family... not right now.

Without him they didn't have a chance in hell to beat Moreau at his own game.

Sure, Eliot wasn't a werewolf or a vampire, but he knew how Damien Moreau worked and the others needed that information to have a chance at winning.

And now that he knew that Sophie and Nate were vampires, he, for the first time, believed that they actually had a chance to stop Moreau before he got even more powerful.

Eliot knew, that, if he wasn't able to figure this whole mess out, he could still disappear after the job was done and they had won.

If they lost... well, Eliot didn't really want to think about what would happen if Moreau won this game.

.

"Eliot!"

Nate's voice stopped Eliot's thoughts from getting too dark.

The Hitter slowly raised his head, afraid what he might see in Nathan's eyes.

But for now the older man seemed to have gained control of his vampire side and Eliot could, for the first time, really see the longing, regret and desire in Nathan's eyes.

How had he not noticed that the longing was there before.

Eliot knew that they had a lot to talk about when this job was done, maybe even sooner if they got the chance.

But the job was more important right now and Nate seemed to have similar thoughts going through his head.

"Why is Moreau only going to tell you the details tomorrow and not today? What does he want you to do?" Nathan questioned, his voice soft, he was probably still trying to make Eliot see how sorry he was that he had lost control so badly.

Eliot sighed and stood up from the bench so that he didn't have to look up at Nate when he told him: "He wants me to kill Atherton and then he'll give me the details."

He deliberately left out the part where he would have to meet with Moreau again and this time alone to get those details, because that would only complicate things and Nate probably wouldn't let him go...

Eliot knew that his voice was a little shaky but he just couldn't bring himself to care that he was showing weakness right now.

After the day he had had, he had every right to be tired and weak for a little while.

"But, you can't just kill Atherton, you're not that man anymore," Sophie stated and her voice sounded almost caring, the previous anger gone. She had obviously realized that Eliot hadn't meant to be offending when he had refused Nate's "offer" to become his mate.

"I don't think I have much of a choice," Eliot growled, even though he really didn't want to have any more innocent blood on his hands if it could be avoided.

He ran a wary hand through his hair, trying to find a way out of this.

"Why can't Moreau kill Atherton himself, if he wants him dead? Or send some of his wolves after him? I mean, it shouldn't be a problem for him," Parker piped up, standing up and inching close to Eliot again.

She of course knew that the Hitter had done bad things in his past, but just killing a man without defending himself or those he cared about... that wasn't Eliot... at least not the Eliot she knew and loved like a big brother.

And even with all the problems she sometimes had to understand how people worked, she understood that it would cause Eliot pain to follow Moreau's order and she didn't want him to hurt anymore than he already did.

Eliot sighed deeply and avoided looking at any of his team.

"He could easily kill Atherton, but that's beside the point. The point is, that this is a test of my loyalty and to find out if he can trust me."

Eliot's voice was strained and once again Nate's heart went out to his chosen one and his vampire's rage grew... the demon wanted Moreau's blood for hurting his chosen, if yet unclaimed, mate.

But he pushed those emotions away for now, because he needed a clear head if they wanted to get out of this mess.

They needed to get that bomb and destroy it, before some criminal bought it and killed with it.

After that was done, Nate could still exact his revenge on Moreau.

.

"I have a plan," he informed, glancing at Eliot again.

The Hitter avoided looking at him and Nate was pretty sure that the younger man was hiding something.

But he'd get to the bottom of that secret later when he had put his plan into action since they didn't have that much time before Eliot was supposed to meet up with Chapman to go and kill Moreau.

And Nathan itched to set the plan into action, because that would give him and Eliot time to have a talk, where Nate could tell the Hitter how exactly things were going to go now that Eliot knew about Nate being a vampire.

And Nathan, no matter what Eliot had to say about this, wasn't prepared to let his Hitter out of his sight, now that he knew there was an Alpha, who had set his eyes on Eliot.

The vampire forced himself to focus on the plan for right now and instructed Sophie, Hardison and Parker what they had to do.

After they had all nodded that they had understood their orders, he smiled and said: "But please be careful and if you think something's going wrong come back to the Headquarters."

Then Nate turned his attention to Eliot, who was only standing there, arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes on Nathan, expecting him to say something.

"We should go back to the bar and talk," Nate said softly, but sternly to let the Hitter know that this was not a suggestion.

But he was still relieved when Eliot nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah, we should," was all he said, before starting to follow Nate to his car, while Sophie, Hardison and Parker started to put their plan into action.

Both Nate and Eliot were so lost in their own thoughts that they didn't see the car following them as soon as Nathan had pulled out of the parking lot...

.

to be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey everybody, I know it took me an awful long time to come up with a new chapter, but I hope you will like it none the less... *smiles hopefully*

Comments would, as always, be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

And please keep in mind that English isn't my native language...

.

Thank you to **Jesco123, FightMasterSlay, Madeleine, .hot, OfBloodandTears, eevee4ever2004, Sunnyluv99, KaibatheUkelord, bluesister02, Karone Evertree, TrueMate and Scottish Halo** for all your awesome feedback *hugs*

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

.

The ride to the hotel was uneventful and Eliot was glad when they were finally in Nate's loft above the bar.

For a while everything was quiet and neither Nate nor Eliot really what to say.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Nathan knew most of what he wanted to say, he just had to figure out how to say it without scaring Eliot further away.

"I'm sorry," he finally started, since this was better than the silence in the room.

His words made Eliot finally look up from where he had been watching his hands clench and relax in his lap.

He watched Nate with a confused look in his eyes, glad that the man had decided to sit on the other couch.

It gave Eliot enough personal space and a sense of security, even though he knew it was only the illusion of security.

"What are you sorry for?" he questioned, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.

"For not telling us that you're a vampire and that Sophie is a vampire too, or for nearly claiming me as your mate without my permission?" he added, this time an underlying sarcasm in his voice that Nathan just couldn't ignore.

Nate sighed a little and tried to reign in his vampire, who had peaked up at the mention of the claiming that might have happened earlier if Eliot hadn't reacted the moment he had done.

"I'm sorry for not telling you I'm a vampire and I'm sorry for not asking your permission first, but I'm not sorry for wanting you as my mate," Nate clarified and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

.

Eliot sighed again. He had expected as much and he was kind of glad that Nate had apologized for nearly claiming him without permission.

But that also meant that Eliot had to come to terms with the fact that Nate was a vampire prince and wanted him as his mate.

He also needed to figure out if he wanted to be Nate's chosen one or not.

And if he didn't want to mate with Nathan he knew that he needed to leave the team behind as soon as this mess was sorted out and Moreau was out of their lives again.

Eliot looked up again since he had lowered his eyes before, and he was a little surprised to see Nathan standing directly in front of him, watching him expectantly.

The Hitter had once again been so lost in his own thoughts that he had been oblivious to his surroundings.

Eliot growled at himself and he knew that he needed to avoid spacing out if he wanted to survive this and more important if he wanted to get out of this unclaimed, either by a werewolf or by a vampire.

_/God, I sound like Parker with her out of line priorities./_ he thought and an amused smile tugged on his lips.

.

"I don't get what's so funny about this."

Nate's sharp voice once again pulled Eliot out of his deep thoughts.

And just now the Hitter realized that Nathan had been talking to him.

"Sorry, I've just been spacing out for a second," he admitted, looking a little sheepish, because he hated it when people caught him in such a situation, even though he should be allowed a little time with his own thoughts after everything that had happened today.

Nate put his hands in the pockets of his trouser and did look everything but amused.

"Obviously," he stated dryly.

And Eliot flinched a little when he saw the dangerous glint in Nate's eyes and the Hitter was pretty sure that this was the vampire gaining dominance for a second.

"So, what were you saying?" Eliot questioned, hoping to appease the older man and trying his best not to show that he was intimidated by the other man, because he seldom was intimidated and he didn't want to make a habit out of it.

"I was just wondering when you were planning on telling us that you worked with Moreau and that he is a werewolf?"

Nate's voice held a dangerous edge and Eliot knew that he needed to chose his words carefully or Nathan's vampire would come out and he couldn't handle that right now.

"Frankly, I didn't plan on telling you at all," the Hitter admitted, knowing that honesty was probably the best way to go about this right now.

Nate merely raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't move at all.

Eliot knew that the older man was waiting for him to continue, but he wasn't quite sure what else to say to Nathan.

.

"And you didn't think that we needed that kind of information when going after Moreau?" Nathan finally questioned when it became obvious that Eliot wouldn't go on on his own.

Eliot finally stood up to come face to face with Nate and not have to look up to him all the time.

"I told you not to go after him," he reminded and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his whole posture screaming defiance.

"Maybe we wouldn't have gone after Moreau if you had told us," Nate shot back and glared at the other man.

Eliot chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, of course. If I had told you that Damien is a werewolf you would have stopped going after him immediately."

The sarcasm was evident in the Hitter's voice and he could see Nathan's eyes flash red for a second, the vampire battling for dominance.

"Yes, I would have stopped, Eliot, especially if you had told me about your past with Moreau. I would never have put you in a danger like that," Nate stated, trying to keep his jealousy that had risen when Eliot had called Moreau by his first name, at bay.

This time it was Eliot who only raised an eyebrow.

Then he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, we can't change things now and I have to admit that I hadn't anticipated to be directly confronted with Damien and I sure has hell haven't thought that he would still want me after all those years."

.

His words probably hadn't been the best thing to say, because he suddenly found himself pressed down on the couch, Nate towering over him, hands firmly on the younger man's shoulders and his eyes really red now.

"Just so that this is clear to you, if it hasn't been obvious before, you are not going anywhere near Moreau again," Nate growled, punctuating his statement by squeezing Eliot's shoulders so hard that even the Hitter winced in pain.

But Eliot refused to be intimidated this time.

"Well, I have got and meet Damien at least once or we will never be able to get the information we need to enter the auction.", he stated, his own voice not much more than a growl.

Nathan hissed and his fangs showed, the vampire obviously in control for now.

"There is no way that I'm letting Moreau near you, let alone touch you again," he snarled, his hands digging into Eliot's shoulders and the Hitter was pretty sure that the grip would leave bruises.

Eliot felt his heart beating faster and he knew that Nate could hear it, but he still tried to remain calm.

He wasn't the best in his business for nothing and he was an independent man, so there was no way that he would just sit here and let Nathan control what he could or couldn't do.

"As I said, you don't have a choice. We need the information," Eliot said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"And besides, I'm not your mate, you can't control me," he continued and just to see how serious Nathan was about the claiming, he added: "And maybe I have decided to accept Damien's proposal to become his mate."

.

Seconds later Eliot felt his world tilt and he found himself lying on the couch, pressed into it with Nathan straddling him, his face only inches away from Eliot's.

"Even though I know you're not serious about accepting this bastard's offer, I need to make this clear."

Nate's voice was only a low growl and even thought Eliot knew how strong vampires were, he was a little surprised that Nathan had been able to overpower him this easy.

Nathan lowered his face down even more, so that Eliot could feel the other man's breath ghost against his lips.

"You are not yet my mate, but that doesn't mean you are free to accept anyone's offer to become their mate," he said and Eliot shuddered a little when he saw the passionate and possessive look in Nate's eyes.

This was not good, not good at all and Eliot knew that he needed to figure out what he wanted to do about this situation and if he wanted to accept Nathan's proposal to become his mate.

If he didn't want to do this, then he needed to get out of here as soon as possible, because Nathan was obviously deadly serious and in the long run he wouldn't take no for an answer.

A low growl brought Eliot out of these thoughts and he stiffened when he suddenly felt Nathan's lips against his neck, which he had unconsciously bared while thinking about what he wanted to do.

Once again he knew he was only mere seconds away from feeling Nathan's fangs in his neck and even though he hadn't ruled out the possibility to allow Nate to drink from him, he didn't want it to happen like that.

.

"Nate, please," he said, hating the pleading tone in his voice, but maybe this would get through to Nathan and stop the vampire from taking control any longer.

And indeed his words seemed to have the desired effect, because Nate's eyes returned to their normal color and the tight grip on his shoulders loosened, the almost feral look on his face softened a little, a sure sign that Nate was regaining control over his vampire side.

And suddenly Nathan sprung to his feet and stared down at Eliot, and his eyes widened.

"God Eliot, I'm sorry," Nathan murmured and reached out to touch the vivid bruise on Eliot's shoulder, which was now visible because the Hitter's shirt had torn a little.

Eliot had slowly sat up and flinched away from Nate's touch and the other man's hand froze in mid-air.

"I know you are," Eliot simply said, before standing up from the couch, walking past Nathan without looking at him again to get some ice from the fridge.

"Eliot..."

Nate stared at the other man's backside and he really didn't know what to say. There was no excuse for what he had nearly done again... he had tried to claim Eliot... again without the other man's permission and that only because he had been insanely jealous when he had thought about the possibility that Eliot might accept Moreau's offer.

"Don't, Nate... just don't," was all Eliot answered, still refusing to look at the other man.

.

Yes, the bruise on his shoulder hurt, but what hurt even more, was, that he didn't feel like he could trust Nathan anymore.

Who was going to say that Nate wouldn't try again?

To regain control over the situation, he squared his shoulders and stopped looking at the finger shaped bruises.

"I'm going to meet Moreau after your plan about Atherton has worked, and we both know that this is the only chance to get an invite to the auction," he told the vampire, finally turning around to look at him.

Nathan nodded slowly.

"Okay, but be careful," he permitted, even though his vampire was raging inside him to not let the Hitter out of his sight.

And even if Nate hadn't been a vampire, a creature that was overly protective over their mates, he would still be worried to let Eliot go and see Moreau alone.

But unfortunately the other man was right. They needed the information and Eliot knew how to take care of himself. He had done so for quite a while even before he had met the team and before Nate had decided that Eliot was his chosen mate.

"I will," Eliot told him and his usual smile graced his lips for a second, the smile that promised serious hurt if you got into the Hitter's way.

.

Again there was silence in the room and the two men just stood there, both looking at each other but avoiding to look the each other in the eye.

"So? What now?" Eliot finally questioned, breaking the heavy silence.

Nathan sighed and ran a hand over his face for a second.

"Now we wait and hope that Sophie, Parker and Hardison will get everything and give us the okay," he explained, hoping that the rest of his team would be back soon, because as much as he wanted to, he didn't trust himself to be alone with Eliot. With the team there, there would be something to distract him from Eliot's scent that drove his vampire wild, because he would be busy planning their next steps.

Eliot nodded and sat down on the couch, the icepack pressed against his left shoulder, because the left hurt much more than the right, since he had an old injury from one of his retrieval jobs there.

Nathan itched to touch the bruise, but he didn't dare and so he decided to go into the kitchen.

"I'll fix us something to eat," he called over his shoulder, even though cooking was normally Eliot's thing, but this time the Hitter was grateful that he didn't have to it.

.

* * *

.

Outside the bar, in a building beside it, a man put a pair of binoculars down and pulled out his cell-phone, hitting speed dial one.

After a few rings, the deep voice of Damien Moreau came through.

"Chapman?" the Alpha questioned.

"Boss, we have a problem. It seems like our dear Eliot is associating with a vampire prince," Chapman answered his boss.

A low growl came through the line and Chapman could easily picture his boss destroying something in a rage.

He waited patiently until Moreau had calmed down enough to speak.

"Well, I guess this demands for a slight change of plans," the werewolf finally said after his jealousy had ebbed a little.

"You know what to do, Chapman," Moreau then added.

"Of course I do, boss," Chapman answered and didn't even wait for his Alpha to say anything else, before he hung up the phone and dialed another number, again waiting for an answer.

This time a female voice came through.

"Ciao amico."

.

to be continued... if you're still interested...


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Here comes a new chapter *smiles* I know it has been longer than you hoped, but my beloved grandfather has fallen seriously ill and I really couldn't concentrate on writing for a while... so yeah, please forgive me that the chapter isn't as long as it should be and if it isn't the best I've ever written.

Oh, just in case you're wondering, in the last chapter I accidentally wrote that Nate's eyes were flashing yellow when his vampire side gained control... that's supposed to be glowing red (I changed it and hope I caught every yellow eyes *g*). Werewolves have yellow eyes and vampires have red eyes *smiles* Thanks Jesco123 for alerting me I made this mistake *hugs*

I just hope it's not too bad and reviews would be most appreciated *smiles shyly*

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Thank you to **Jesco123, FightMasterSlay, Kaz-za-15, eevee4ever2004, Sunnyluv99, for2rusty, Madeleine, TrueMate, Eluvcuddles, SilverWolf47, msdarque, Less101 and GalynSolo** for all your kind reviews for the last chapter *hugs* I'm really glad you like this story so much *smiles brightly*

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**Oh yeah, just because this has been bugging me so much, I decided to write it in the A/N of this chapter, because I don't know when I'll get out the next chapter *sigh***

**Well, I got an anonymous review (which I deleted, because I was going crazy seeing it there o.O) and it made fun of my story, because the reviewer compared my story to Twilight and found it funny that I was a writer with the twilight-syndrome as the reviewer called it o.O Just to make it clear: I haven't even read much more than half the first book and that only because a friend of mine said I should do so, I just don't like Twilight (haven't seen the movies, and as I said, haven't read more than about 100 pages of the books) and this idea for the story comes from Tanya Huff's Blood Ties novels and the Underworld movies, so yeah, please don't call my story a twi-heart story, because I really don't like that comparison... and don't get me wrong, if you like Twilight, this isn't meant to insult you, it's just not my cup of tea, even though I have read a lot of other vampire/werewolf novels (well except Twilight and Vampire Diaries o.O) so yeah, sorry for my ramblings but I just wanted to clear that up and again I'm open to constructive criticism, but as I said, this review made me a little mad o.O it may be because my nerves are very thin these days anyway *sigh***

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

.

"I don't like this plan."

The words came from Nate and the vampire was pacing the room anxiously while Hardison, Sophie and Parker watched from the couch.

"But it's your plan," Parker stated and shrunk against Hardison a little, when Nathan turned and glared at her for a second.

"I know that, but that doesn't make me like it more. I hate that this is our only chance," he replied and then sent Parker an apologetic look.

It wasn't the blonde thief's fault that Eliot was currently getting ready to meet with Moreau, well, kill Atherton first and then meet with the werewolf.

But the first part of the plan, killing Atherton, or better let Moreau think that he was dead, wasn't what Nate didn't like about the plan.

Actually, it was the only part of the plan he really liked.

No, his problem was, that after Eliot had pretended to kill Atherton, he would go with Chapman to meet Moreau... alone and without the team as backup.

Nate had wanted to go with him, but Eliot had refused, stating that he could handle himself and that Nathan wouldn't be able to reign in his vampire if he met the alpha werewolf.

And Nate had agreed, even though reluctantly

He had, however, insisted, that Eliot wore a GPS-tracker and a camera, both designed by Hardison, and the hacker had assured them that they wouldn't be found easily if put in the right places.

And those right places were in the broad leather wristband Eliot always wore.

.

Nathan was about to say more, when Eliot returned to the room and looked at all present.

"You do realize that I still have my earbud in, don't you? And all I can say is, that I thought you had a little more faith in me," he questioned, giving Nate his best glare, which made the vampire's eyes flash red for a second.

Parker gave Eliot one of her wicked smiles and handed him his wristband, where Hardison had been busy installing the microphone and the camera.

The Hitter fit the band around his arm and looked at it to make sure that he couldn't see the little gadgets Alec had put in, because if he could see them, then Moreau would see them without a doubt.

To his relief the armband looked totally inconspicuous.

"I guess I'm ready to go," Eliot said, not sure if he should be glad about this or not.

He wasn't really sure if Nate's plan would work. And it would be hard enough to deal with Damien without him being angry, because he found the camera.

"I don't like this," Nathan repeated and looked at his Hitter, his look a mix of anger, jealousy and worry.

And Eliot had the feeling that he needed to assure Nathan that he would be okay and that he could handle the meeting with Moreau.

"As Parker pointed out earlier, it's your plan and as crazy as it sounds it will work. Most of your plans have worked," he explained with one of his trademark grins.

Against his will, Nate felt himself relax a little. Eliot had a point there. His plans were always crazy, but somehow they always went right, even though they had screwed up a few times.

And it wasn't like Eliot was completely helpless, quite the contrary. The Hitter was more than capable to take care of himself, but still, Moreau was a dangerous man.

"Okay, but you are out there, no matter if you have the information or not, if Moreau tries anything funny," he informed, his voice dangerously low and his eyes once again glowing red for a second.

Eliot rubbed his neck for a second and then he slowly nodded.

"I will," he promised and then he looked at the whole team, who were all looking at him strangely, but with concern in their eyes.

He tried to give them all a reassuring smile and then he turned to leave the loft, ignoring Nate's burning eyes on his back.

He knew that the team wouldn't be far behind him and they would have an eye on him, so Eliot wasn't too concerned.

And honestly Nate's plan was crazy but it was also a good plan and it would work if the Hitter just kept his calm.

But it was going to be hard to stay calm as soon as he came face to face with Moreau again. And with these thoughts he exited the bar to meet with Chapman, knowing that the team wouldn't be far behind him, following him and Chapman in Hardison's van... he just hoped that it would be enough...

.

* * *

.

Eliot took a deep sigh and composed himself, before he walked a little down the street where he would meet Chapman.

He could see the other leaning against his car and grinning at him.

"Eliot," was all Chapman said in greeting, much like he had done earlier at the hotel pool.

"Chapman," Eliot replied, slipping into the passenger seat of the car, activating the camera while he did so, so that Hardison could see where they were going, well not that they didn't have the GPS chip on him too.

"So, how is this going to go?" he questioned, more for the benefit of the team, who could hear every single word over the earpiece.

Chapman didn't answer. He just started the car and drove the car through the city towards Atherton's house, or at least that was what Eliot assumed where they were going.

When they had driven about twenty minutes, Chapman suddenly stopped the car and told Eliot with an evil smirk on his face.

"Certainly not how you and that vampire friend of yours are expecting," he sneered and before Eliot could react, he felt a sting in his neck.

Even though he quickly ripped the syringe out that stuck from his neck, it was half empty.

"What the hell?" he questioned and he opened the car door, prepared to get out, but suddenly a rope was around his neck, pulling him back hard against the seat and Eliot just now realised that there had obviously someone been hiding on the backseat.

And he had been too distracted with the prospect of having to meet Moreau again that he hadn't even noticed and he would probably pay dearly for that mistake.

Eliot cursed himself silently for this slip in observance.

His hands went around the rope, trying to loosen it almost frantically, so that he could breath freely again, but his vision started to go blurry.

He trashed around in his seat.

"Let go!" he grunted, his hands clawing at the rope, but with the drugs in his system he was no match and black dots appeared in front of his eyes and a wave of nausea washed over him.

Chapman only watched him with amusement.

"Moreau will love to hear that you haven't lost your fighting spirit. You know how much he loves a challenge," he grinned, the tone of his voice like he was having a casual conversation with a friend and not like he was watching the Hitter fighting to remain conscious.

Eliot would have loved to lash out at the other, but even breathing was hard right now and he stopped his trashing, knowing that it wouldn't help him in the long run.

And he could also feel his strength leaving him and the drugs finally doing their job.

"You'll regret this, Chapman," he managed to get out, before the darkness finally claimed him and so he didn't hear Nate's frantic voice in his ear, asking him if he was okay.

.

Once Eliot had finally fallen unconscious, the man, who had been strangling Eliot immediately let go of the rope and climbed out of the backseat.

He opened the passenger side door and pulled Eliot out, Chapman assisting him.

The two carried Eliot to the trunk of the car and almost gently put him in, securing his hands behind his back with a pair of handcuffs.

Another pair of handcuffs went around Eliot's ankles and just to make sure that the Hitter didn't have the slightest chance to escape, in case he woke up earlier than anticipated, they connected both pairs of cuffs with a short length of rope, effectively hog-tying Eliot.

"Okay, let's go, before his vampire friend realizes what's going on," Chapman instructed and before he closed the trunk, he took out Eliot's earpiece, threw it to the ground, crushing it with his feet.

Then he got into the car with his partner and the two drove off, just when a black van came screeching around the corner...

.

* * *

.

"I don't like this plan," Nate muttered again when the door fell closed behind Eliot.

The vampire inside him didn't really like to let the Hitter out of his sight, but then again, Nathan knew, that this was the only chance they had.

"Hardison?" he questioned, turning to the young hacker.

Alec had his laptop on his lap and was typing.

"The tracker works and I'm still waiting for Eliot to activate the camera and his earpiece again," he explained not even looking at Nate.

"Okay, then we wait for five minutes and then we go down and follow him, just in case that if someone is watching Eliot, he won't make the connection between us and him," Nate instructed, relieved when his team nodded.

Sure, Parker still avoided to come too close to him, but at least she hadn't left. Nate took that as a good sign and as the chance to repair his friendship with the blonde thief.

The same went for Hardison, but Nathan had been sure that he would stay to make sure Eliot would be as protected as he could be when walking into the lions den.

Then Nate's thoughts returned to Eliot and his unease grew. His vampire side told him, that his plan was a bad idea, but since he hadn't come up with an alternative, he knew it was their only chance.

"_So, how is this going to go?"_

Nate gave a sigh of relief when he heard Eliot's voice over the speakers of Hardison's laptop and over his earpiece.

He sounded annoyed and Nathan smiled a little, imagining the look on the Hitter's face right now. Nate found an annoyed Eliot damn sexy, not that he'd admit that out loud to anyone anytime soon.

But his good mood vanished seconds later when Chapman answered him.

" _Certainly not how you and that vampire friend of yours are expecting."_

The words alarmed Nathan and the rest of the team, especially when they heard Eliot's "what the hell" and then struggles.

The camera didn't show much, but from the blurry picture it was obvious that Eliot was struggling with someone.

"Let's go!" Nate nearly screamed and his eyes flashed red again, before he was already halfway down the stairs, Sophie the only one able to keep up with Nate's vampiric speed.

And when Hardison and Parker finally were with them, Nate had already started the van.

Alec and Parker nearly jumped into the backseat.

.

"Where do we go?" Nathan questioned.

"Left," Hardison replied hurriedly, his eyes glued to the screen of his laptop and intently listening to what Eliot was saying, hoping that the other man would give them some hints what was going on.

But what they heard made Nate step harder on the gas and Parker was picking one lock after the other from the stash she had in Hardison's van, a sure sign that she was nervous and worried.

"_Moreau will love to hear that you haven't lost your fighting spirit. You know how much he loves a challenge."_

Nathan let out a scream of rage when he heard those words and only his quick reflexes stopped him from driving the van off the road.

And suddenly everything went quiet after the threat from the Hitter.

Nate's heart stopped for a second when all signs of life from Eliot stopped, but he tried to assure himself that Moreau didn't want to kill the Hitter.

His eyes glowed red and the vampire gained more and more control and there would be hell to pay as soon as he got his hands on those bastards, who had dared to hurt his chosen mate.

"How far?" he questioned through gritted teeth.

"We should reach them soon," Hardison started and then he yelped when they all heard the sound of the earpiece being destroyed.

"Damn," Nate cursed, urging the van to go faster, even though it couldn't go much faster.

"The GPS and the camera are still working though," Alec informed them and Nathan gave a sigh of relief at that and calmed down a little, the vampire inside him giving him back the control.

"They're driving again," Hardison informed. His screen was now dark and he assumed that they had put Eliot in the trunk of the car, so there wasn't any use for the camera right now so he concentrated on the GPS signal.

But suddenly the red dot on the map vanished.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, furiously typing to find out what had just happened.

"What is it?" Sophie questioned calmly. She was the only one, who had been able to keep her head about her.

Alec gulped nervously, because he knew Nate wouldn't like what he was going to say next.

"I lost Eliot's signal..."

.

to be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hey everybody, I'm sorry that it took me so awfully long to get out a new chapter, but my muses haven't been very cooperative lately after my grandfather and one of my best friends died only weeks apart.

But now I'm finally getting back on track and I hope you like the new chapter and the characters are not too OOC... I tried my best... *sigh*

.

Comments would, as always, be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

And please keep in mind that English isn't my native language...

.

**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

Thank you to **eevee4ever2004, Jesco123, DarknessIsTheUniverse, msdarque, SilverWolf47, LiveFreeDieWell, EluvCuddles, Madeleine, Karone Evertree, SivanShemesh, Kaz-za-15 and Rai** for all your nice comments *hugs* They're most appreciated *smile*

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* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

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"Welcome back to the land of the living."

The voice, that finally woke Eliot from his drug-induced slumber wasn't one he particularly wanted to hear. It also helped him to immediately remember everything that had happened before.

The Hitter slowly opened his eyes, knowing that it was pointless to try and fake that he was still unconscious.

With his superior hearing, a feature werewolves had in common with vampires, Moreau would pick up on his changed breathing-pattern anyway.

Eliot blinked a few times so that his eyes could adjust to the sudden light.

"Damien! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he growled, trying to sound intimidating, which wasn't the easiest task, considering his situation.

Eliot had quickly realized that he was handcuffed to a chair, even though it was quite a comfortable chair, he had to admit.

Moreau only chuckled and ran a hand through Eliot's hair in a mocking gesture of affection.

It took all of Eliot's willpower not to jerk his hand away, because there was no way he'd give Damien Moreau the satisfaction to show, that, despite Eliot Spencer's reputation, he was indeed afraid of the alpha werewolf.

.

"What do you think I'm doing, Eliot? I'm claiming what I should have claimed years ago," Moreau answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Eliot clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and if he could have, he would have lashed out at Moreau for the man treating him like a possession.

"And you seriously think, that I'm just going to submit to you?" he spat, yanking at the handcuffs that were binding him to the chair.

It was useless, but it was a gesture to show that the Hitter wouldn't just give up and submit to Damien Moreau.

The werewolf again only chuckled in amusement and sat down in the chair beside Eliot and just now the Hitter really realized that he was sitting in a very expensive private jet and a rush of uneasiness swept through him.

If Moreau had managed to kidnap him even with all the security measure the team had taken and put him on his own private jet, then something had gone terribly wrong.

Panic crept up in the Hitter's gut, mixed with fear for his team.

Damien's voice stopped him from panicking too much, because the man said with a definite leer in his voice: "We'll see about that, Eliot. And don't worry, I can be a patient man if I want to be. And I have all the time in the world to wait this time."

Eliot turned his head to glare at the werewolf and he was about to say something along the lines that Nate and the team would find and free him, if he hadn't managed to flee on his own until then, even though Eliot was pretty sure that Moreau had taken a lot of precautions to stop the Hitter from getting away.

.

But Moreau seemed to guess what Eliot was thinking, because he quickly tried to shatter Eliot's hopes of being rescued by Nate, Sophie, Parker and Hardison.

"Don't count on your little team to save you, Eliot. If everything has gone according to plan that damn vampire and the rest of your friends are dead. And if plan A failed, they'll be sent on a wild goose-chase everywhere but where we're going. It will take them months to find us... if they find us at all."

Eliot stared at Moreau, eyes wide and his heart clenched painfully at the team, his friends, dead because of him.

Sure, he didn't have proof that they were dead and he would refuse to believe so until he had definite proof, because he knew better than anyone what the team was capable of.

But he was also very aware what Moreau was capable of, especially as an alpha werewolf, and he had no doubt that Moreau would be able to cause trouble for the team if he wanted to.

And right now it seemed that he really wanted to.

.

"I swear I'll kill you, if you hurt them," he growled in a voice that told everybody that he was dead serious.

He yanked on the cuffs holding him to the chair so hard that he most likely would have bruises tomorrow, but right now Eliot didn't care about that.

His actions, however, didn't even make Moreau flinch.

The werewolf only said to Eliot's fruitless attempts to free himself: "Stop that. You'll only hurt yourself."

Since Damien knew how good at escaping hopeless situations Eliot was, he had taken all the necessary precautions, because there was no way he would let the man get away again.

In the pocket of his pants was a syringe with a sedative that would take effect within seconds, should Eliot somehow manage to free himself from the cuffs.

But even for Eliot that was highly unlikely. Moreau had made sure that the locks were out of reach and he had searched the Hitter himself for any hidden lock-picking devices, taking great pleasure in feeling that body under his hands again.

The cuffs themselves were strong enough to hold werewolves and vampires, so there was no way Eliot would be able to break them.

Still... with Eliot you couldn't be too careful.

And Moreau sure as hell wouldn't let his guard down, because he was determined to not let Eliot Spencer slip through his fingers again.

The Hitter would be his mate, no matter if he wanted to or not...

Well, if he would willingly submit to Moreau, things would be a lot easier, not to mention a lot more pleasurable and satisfying, but in the end it wouldn't matter.

Damien looked the Hitter straight in the eye, a nasty smirk on his face.

"As for your team... if they aren't already dead, well, we can probably work something out to keep them safe... as long as you give me something in return," he said suggestively, his hand once again running through Eliot's hair in a mock-caress.

.

When Moreau said those words, Eliot knew that he had made a tactical error by indirectly telling Moreau how much he cared about Nate, Parker, Hardison and Sophie.

Now the werewolf had leverage over him and that was the last thing Eliot needed.

The Hitter swallowed nervously and tried to keep his calm.

He had a lot of confidence in his team and if anyone could find and free him from Moreau's clutches, it was his team.

_/If they aren't dead already./_ a little voice in the back of Eliot's mind told him.

Eliot immediately silenced that voice, refusing to believe that Moreau had succeeded in assassinating them.

He hardened his voice and snapped: "And let me guess, the thing you want in return for the team's safety, is my submission."

Eliot aimed his best death glare at Moreau.

Damien merely chuckled in amusement. He knew that he had the upper hand here, no matter what Eliot had achieved in his past and the werewolf planned on keeping it that way.

So he only nodded slowly.

"That would be a good start, yes."

Eliot clenched his teeth and his hands wrapped tightly around the armrests he was chained to, imagining that it was Moreau's throat.

He barely restrained himself from yelling at the alpha werewolf, because he knew it would do him no good and would only further confirm for Moreau how much he cared about the team and how much the werewolf had him in a corner.

Eliot knew from experience that his best chance to escape was to lure Damien into a false sense of security and then take his chance and strike or get away.

And he of course knew that Nate and the rest of the team would try anything to find hm.

But there still was this little part of him that feared that Moreau had told the truth and he had managed to kill them.

.

The arrival of Chapman stopped Eliot from dwelling too much on that unpleasant thought for too long.

Moreau's right hand man had a smug grin on his face when he entered the cabin of Moreau's private jet.

"So?" Damien only questioned.

"Everything is in order, boss. The auction has gone as planned and the Ram's Horn is on its way to its new owner. And Atherton's dead," Chapman informed, obviously satisfied with himself, judging by the smug smile he directed at Eliot.

And the Hitter couldn't really blame him. It was the first time ever since they had met each other that Chapman had gotten the best of Eliot and Chapman would surely rub it under his nose for quite a while... well that was if Eliot stayed with Moreau for a longer period of time.

"Good, good."

Moreau clapped his hands together and then he looked straight at Eliot to see the reaction to his next question.

"And the vampire and the rest of his little team?"

"Taken care of," Chapman answered immediately, an almost joyful expression on his face when he saw Eliot go pale.

The Hitter gripped the armrest even more tightly than he had done before, he gripped them so tight that even his knuckles turned white.

Moreau could not only see Eliot's reaction, he could also smell the fear and grief on him.

He once again ran his hand through Eliot's hair in what would have been a soothing gesture if he hadn't been responsible for Eliot's grief and rage.

Eliot, for his part, was too stunned and too wrapped up in his grief and anger to move away from the hand that was almost petting him.

_/This is my fault. I dragged them into this by not telling them about Moreau right away... it is my fault that they're dead now./ _

That thought was too painful for Eliot and he was so lost in his grief that he didn't even hear Moreau talking to Chapman.

"Now that all lose ends are tied off, we can finally leave this country. Tell the pilot that we're ready now."

Eliot didn't even see Chapman leaving the cabin to probably go to the cockpit and tell the pilot, because he had shut his eyes so tightly, trying to block off the images of all the possible scenarios how the team could have died.

And he couldn't help but see all of their dead and broken bodes before his inner eye, especially Nate's.

And Eliot's heart clenched painfully and he could even feel a single tear running down his cheek.

But he tried to harden himself again.

.

There was still the possibility that Chapman's words hadn't even meant that the team was dead, but just shaken off their trail.

But he just couldn't dismiss this conclusion, not after everything Moreau had said earlier.

Eliot knew that he couldn't allow himself to show more emotions and honestly, he was too numb with fear and grief to show much more emotions, especially here and now with Moreau sitting beside him.

But it was also Damien who pulled him out of his agonized thoughts for a moment.

"I know you may not believe it, Eliot, but I really am sorry that I had to kill your team. But they would have tried to take you away from me, especially that damn vampire," the werewolf told him, his voice sincere.

The funny thing was, that Eliot did believe the alpha werewolf.

In his own twisted mind, Moreau probably really was sorry for causing Eliot pain, because the Hitter had long ago realized that Moreau's feelings for him were sincere in their own, violent, possessive way.

.

But that made things even worse for Eliot, because that hammered home the point that it was his fault that Parker, Hardison, Sophie and Nate were probably dead.

They had died because he had let down his walls and had allowed himself the weakness to care for them... and worse, he had allowed that they started to care for him...

He had made a rookie mistake that no Hitter normally allowed himself to make... and the team had paid the price.

But he would have his revenge on Moreau.

He would kill the werewolf... or die trying.

.

With that resolve, Eliot felt a lot better and managed to calm himself down.

He didn't even flinch when Moreau put his hand on his knee.

The only thought running through his head was: _/I will get my revenge.../_

.

to be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Okay, first of all, I'm really sorry that it took me so long to get a new chapter out *apologetic smile*

And second, I really hope you won't hate me for this chapter and I hope the characters are not too OOC. I tried my best but my muses didn't really want to cooperate with me and I changed this chapter about seven times, but that's all I could come up with...

As I said, I hope it's not too bad and comments would be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

.

And thank you very much to **Jesco123 **(I love your comments and your nagging *g* because it shows me how much you like the story, but I still won't spoiler you what's going to happen *evil grin*), **msdarque, whimseyrhodes** (well, there will be a lot more angst in this story *evil grin* and I'm really happy that you like the story *smiles*),** eevee4ever2004, saides, SivanShemesh **(oh, Nate will fight to get Eliot back *nods* *g*),** Layce, Madeleine and donna** for your kind comments for the last chapter *hugs you all*

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And of course thank you for all the kind words about my grandfather and my friend *hugs you all* I really appreciated them and they meant a lot to me *hugs again*

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 6**

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Nate blinked a few times and then he finally dared to fully open his eyes.

His head hurt and he could easily scent his own blood on various parts of his body, but since as a vampire he healed pretty quickly, he didn't worry about it too much for now.

There were more important matters to consider right now.

The vampire could also scent the bloods of his teammates, his clan if he wanted to call it that and that worried him much more than his own superficial wounds.

Nate sat up abruptly, so that the world was spinning for a second, before his eyes adjusted.

He looked around and tried to see through the dust that was still in the air and that told Nathan that he hadn't been unconscious for too long.

"Parker? Hardison? Sophie?" he questioned anxiously.

Sure, he could hear all of their heartbeats, but that was about all he knew right now and so he was worried, not to mention the anger he felt that Moreau had managed to nearly kill them all.

"Nate?" a small voice answered, which Nathan immediately recognized as Parker's.

Relief filled him and he climbed to his feet, staggering a little, before walking into the direction where the voice had come from.

"Are you okay, Parker?" he questioned, finally spotting the blond head, the rest of her body blocked by a huge crate that stood in the old warehouse where they currently were.

"Yeah, I'm okay, well, besides a cut on my arm, but Hardison is unconscious and he's bleeding from a head wound."

Nate was a bit surprised by the serious tone of Parker's voice, but he quickly, well as quickly as his body allowed him too, ran over to the blonde thief and the unconscious hacker.

He knelt beside the young man and felt for a pulse, relieved to find it strong and steady, okay, his hearing had picked it up too, but to feel it with his own fingers was another way to assure himself, that Hardison would be okay.

He looked at Parker, whose eyes were glued to Hardison and she unconsciously had grabbed the hacker's hand.

Nate had to smile a little and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"He'll probably come around in a few minutes. The bleeding on his head is superficial and has already stopped," he tried to assure the blonde thief.

And indeed Parker gave him a small smile, before she concentrated on Hardison again.

.

Nate looked around and searched the warehouse for Sophie.

He could feel her presence and turned around to see the female vampire walking towards him, looking like nothing had happened, well except that her clothes were ripped in some places and there was dirt on her face, but otherwise she looked okay.

Nathan sighed in relief and then thought back to how close this had been and what exactly had happened.

They had lost Eliot's signal and the car in which their hitter had been abducted in, but somehow Hardison had managed to get the signal back, or so they had thought.

In truth Nate suspected that Moreau had wanted them to believe that, because the signal had led them straight here to that warehouse.

It had been a trap, because as soon as they had set foot into the building, Nate had heard the timer of the bomb and that had probably saved them all, because they had managed to find at least partial cover somewhere.

They'd probably be dead right now, if Nate's senses hadn't been on high alert, because he had searched for any sign of Eliot.

Eliot...

Nate immediately growled in anger.

Moreau had fooled him and he and Eliot were probably god knows where by now and that angered Nate beyond belief.

He couldn't stand the thought that Damien Moreau would try and get Eliot to submit to him.

His vampire raged and demanded that they immediately started to look for his chosen mate again, but Nate knew there were other things to take care of right now, as much as it hurt to admit it.

Hardison was still unconscious and probably had a concussion... and they needed to find that bomb that Moreau had sold.

.

It was their job to protect the innocent people that might get hurt if some terrorist got their hands on that bomb.

Nathan didn't like this one bit, but maybe they could do both.

His vampire raged and demanded his full attention on the task of finding Eliot.

As if Nate could forget about the Hitter for more than one second, but he at least was sure, that Moreau didn't intend to kill Eliot.

That would at least give them some time to find him.

And they had one advantage now.

Moreau probably thought that they were dead and maybe he would lower his defenses a little so that it would be easier to find some trace as to where he might have gone.

He looked at Sophie, who had a little metal box in her hands.

The box was badly damaged, but whatever was inside was probably still intact.

Nate looked at the female vampire with curiosity.

Sophie only shrugged and handed Nathan the box.

"It has your name on it. I figured it might be important. I found it when I did a search of the area to see if there were other nasty surprises waiting," she informed, her British accent more pronounced than normal, which told Nate that she was a little more shaken by what had happened than she tried to let on.

Nathan took the box and he wasn't sure if he should open it or not, because he really didn't want to know what was inside, but maybe it would help them find Eliot.

Because Nate was pretty sure that Moreau had left the box for Nathan to find, either before the bomb exploded, or Damien had already taken the possibility that they would survive into account and had left a message to taunt them.

.

Before he could further contemplate what he wanted to do, he heard a groan from his left and so he just put the small box into the pocket of his jacket and turned towards Hardison.

The Hacker was finally waking up, which was a big relief for Nate.

He had started to worry that the young man hadn't come around yet.

"Hardison?" Parker questioned, part relieved, part happy that the young man had finally woken up.

"'at happ'nd?" The Hacker questioned, his voice weak and strained.

Nate put a gentle hand on the other man's shoulder to stop him from sitting up.

Sure, the hard cement floor probably wasn't very comfortable, but if Alec really had a concussion, it was best for him to not sit up just yet.

"Moreau has led us into a trap. There was a bomb," Nate informed.

"Oh, everybody okay?" Hardison asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"Except a few bumps and bruises we're all okay," Parke quickly piped up, smiling at the Hacker, still holding his hand without realizing it too much.

Hardison managed a small smile too, but then he winced slightly.

Nate's concern grew and he wanted to get Hardison back to the headquarters so they could call a friend of him, who was a doctor and wouldn't ask questions, to check on Hardison.

He didn't hesitate for too long and simply picked Hardison up, gently carrying him towards the van, trying to keep him as steady as possible.

With his vampire strength it wasn't hard for him to carry the young man despite his size.

Parker and Sophie followed quickly, both anxious to know what they would do next.

Hardison didn't say a word, but he carefully stretched out on the backseat of the car.

Sophie climbed behind the wheel and started the car to drive back to the headquarters.

Nate pulled out his cellphone, which thankfully was still working and after a quick call to the doctor, who would meet them at the bar, he gave a deep sigh and then called a number he hadn't dialed in a long time.

It only took two rings and then someone at the other end picked up.

Nathan didn't even waste time to greet the person on the other end, he simply said: "I need an appointment with the Eldest this evening and I'm going to pull rank if I have to..."

.

* * *

.

At some point during the flight Eliot must have fallen asleep, because it was once again Damien Moreau's voice on the phone with someone that brought him back to consciousness.

The werewolf was still sitting beside him, his hand once again resting on his knee, squeezing it gently while finishing the talk and putting the phone away.

Normally the Hitter would have pushed the offending hand away immediately, but he didn't have the strength to do so.

And that was when Eliot realized that he felt really weak, too weak to be exact.

He could barely lift his hand and even turning his head required all of his strength.

"What did you do to me while I was asleep?" he hissed, or better he wanted to hiss, but his voice was slurred.

Moreau bent towards him, a sly smile on his face.

"Oh, that's a special little drug my people came up with. It makes you as weak as a cub, but you're still conscious and able to feel everything and your mind will work normally."

Eliot's eyes widened a little and he wanted to struggle, but as Moreau had said, he was too weak to do much more than lift his little finger.

"I'm sorry to do this, Eliot, but it lessens the chance that you will try to flee or do something we both might regret," Damien told him, his hand gently squeezing the Hitter's knee.

Eliot growled, but didn't say anything, because honestly, there wasn't much he could say.

For once he had no idea what he should do and how he could escape this situation, at least right now.

"And you should get used to this feeling, because after we've mated you'll feel like this for quite a while and you will need my protection during that time," Moreau informed him, the offending hand moving from the knee to the Hitter's hair.

The werewolf loved the feel of Eliot's long hair underneath his fingers.

"You're crazy," Eliot spat, trying to gather as much strength as possible, but the drug in his system made him really weak.

.

Moreau shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe I am, Eliot," was all he said with an evil smile on his lips.

"But rest assured that my feelings for you are genuine and you'll realize that once we're mated."

And with that Moreau undid his seat-belt and stood up from his chair.

"And now it's time for you to see your new home."

Eliot stared at the other man and wondered how long he had been asleep and in which part of the world they now were.

His grief and anger because of the possible death of his team had exhausted him earlier.

The Hitter knew that right now he couldn't do much more than to comply with Moreau until he had a new plan.

Moreau crouched down in front of the seat Eliot was chained to and pulled something out of the pocket of his jeans.

Eliot's eyes widened when he realized what it was and despite the drugs he managed a weak struggle against his chains.

"You're not putting this on me," he managed to spit out.

Moreau's hand shot forward and grabbed Eliot's hair, pulling his head back.

"This is for your own safety, Eliot," he growled, his eyes flashing yellow for a second.

"I'm having a meeting with some of the most powerful alpha werewolves in the world and when they pick up your scent, it's important that they know that you belong to me, even though we're not mated yet or they might try and take you away from me and I won't allow that to happen."

The possessiveness was more than evident in Damien's voice and Eliot was too stunned by the words and too weak from the drugs to react in any way when Moreau fastened the small, elegant leather collar around his neck.

It had Damien Moreau's initials on it in silver letters and was locked with a small silver padlock so that there was no way Eliot would be able to pull it off without Moreau's consent.

The Hitter had seldom felt as humiliated and weak as he felt right now and his face was white and his eyes shone with anger and he was about to tell Moreau exactly what he thought about it, the werewolf bent forward and captured Eliot's lips in a bruising, possessive kiss...

.

to be continued, if you're still interested...


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Okay, I'm awfully sorry that it has taken me a month to update this story o.O But my computer decided to delete a big part of this chapter and I had to rewrite it, so it took me longer than I thought *sigh* I hope you can forgive me and I really hope you're still interested in this story and most of all I hope that this chapter isn't too bad o.O

.

Oh and I'm a little interested to know what you think, should the team find Eliot in time or should Moreau manage to make our favorite Hitter his mate? Just curious what you think *smile*, well I know what some of you think, but I'd like to hear what the rest of you thinks *smile*

.

Thank you so much to **saides,**** SlytherinQueen020,**** msdarque,**** Jesco123** (don't worry, Eliot will get his chance at revenge... maybe *evil grin* Well, I needed something to weaken Eliot so that he wouldn't appear to wimpy or something like that so I thought of a drug o.O Does that make me crazy?), **eevee4ever2004,**** Wolfa****Moon,****Madeleine,**** TerrorThatLurksInYerBathtub****X3, ****ElaiisTaiE,**** Sivan****Shemesh,**** Sunnyluv99,**** tellytha, ****arabianlvr2020**** and**** Karon****Evertree** (it's okay that you missed the last chapters, at least you're back in the story now *hugs*) for all your kind reviews *hugs you all*

Comments for this chapter are of course most appreciated *smiles*

And please keep in mind that English isn't my native language...

.

**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

* * *

.

The kiss seemed to last an eternity and Eliot did everything in his power to stop the werewolf from kissing him like that.

But with the drug in his system and Moreau's hand fastened in his hair, he couldn't do much more than move his head a little from side to side.

And biting down on Damien's tongue didn't even bother the werewolf much, quite the contrary, it only seemed to excite him more.

The Hitter felt relieved when Moreau finally broke the kiss.

Sure, it wasn't the first time that Damien had kissed him like that and they had done much more than just kiss before, but then Eliot had been willing to go along with it... right now, he really wasn't.

The collar around his neck seemed to weigh a ton and Eliot was constantly aware of it and it didn't really serve to improve his mood.

He was just exhausted, humiliated and full of rage, all these emotions battling inside him, but none really winning out.

Eliot still wondered, if Nate and the others were really dead and his heart constricted painfully at that thought, but until he had proof, he wasn't ready to give up on his team and he would fight Moreau as best as he could for as long as he could, so that Nate, Hardison, Sophie and Parker had time to find him.

That they would try and find him, of that Eliot had no doubt. They were a team, a family even, although quite dysfunctional at times... but in their own way, they all loved each other, even though none of them would admit it out loud.

.

A hand on the cuffs holding him to the seat, broke his mind away from the thoughts about his team.

Moreau was finally letting him out of the cuffs since they would get out of the plane now and Eliot wondered where in the world they were.

But as soon as both cuffs were gone from his wrists, Eliot leaped up, his fist high to punch Moreau, or at least that had been the plan.

But his punch wasn't more than a weak push and to his own disgust, he couldn't even stand on his own thanks to the powerful drug in his system.

If Damien hadn't wrapped his arms around him, Eliot would have fallen, but the Hitter would have preferred that to suddenly finding himself so close to Moreau.

And he stiffened in the werewolf's arms when he felt the man's hands suddenly on his butt, squeezing slightly.

Eliot raised his head and growled at the other man.

"Let go," he snarled, trying to shake the hands off, but like before he didn't have much success.

Moreau only chuckled at Eliot's weak attempts to escape, confident that, with his superior strength and the drug in Eliot's blood, the Hitter didn't have a chance to escape.

"Oh Eliot, you still haven't understood it, have you?" he questioned, but he obeyed Eliot's wishes for now and let go of the other man's ass, only steadying him with an arm around the Hitter's waist.

Eliot only remained silent, not sure what to say now.

Damien didn't even wait for an answer, he just continued, his voice a low growl right into Eliot's ear: "You're mine now, Eliot, like you should have been so long ago and I can do with you as I please."

The words made Eliot start struggling again with all the strength he had left, because there was no way in hell that he would let Moreau get away with those words.

"I ain't your possession," he snapped, trying to free himself from the strong arm around his waist.

Damien watched a little amused and then he pulled Eliot close to him again, before he kissed the younger man once again.

This time, when they broke the kiss, Damien put his ear close to Eliot's and his voice was almost soft when he whispered: "No, Eliot, you're not my possession. You're going to be my mate and once you are, you will learn what an honor that is. You won't have to worry about anything anymore, because I can give you everything you might want."

Eliot stared at Moreau and then he whispered: "Except my freedom."

If Moreau had heard what the Hitter had said, he didn't comment on it.

Instead he loosened the forced embrace and only kept his arm around Eliot to steady him.

But Eliot had at least gained enough strength to stand on his own and he was relieved when Damien finally let go of him.

"Do I have to cuff you or are you going to behave?" Damien asked, looking at Eliot, trying to judge how weak the Hitter really was right now.

Sure, the drug should still render him barely able to walk, but Moreau had long ago learned that Eliot could do a lot of things people thought not possible, at least for mere humans.

The Hitter however didn't really answer. He was pretty sure that Moreau would do what he wanted anyway.

Damien chuckled at the glare of defiance Eliot gave him and he resisted the urge to kiss the hitter again.

He knew he might get carried away if he did and he had more than enough time to give in to his desire for the younger man once they were settled in.

Damien was still confident that Eliot would learn to enjoy being his mate... he had willingly shared his bed once, after all.

.

He gestured for Chapman, who had been standing a little aside and had watched the exchange with a smirk on his face.

Moreau's right hand opened the door of the plane and then he waited for Moreau to pass.

The werewolf looked at Eliot and the Hitter knew that he had no choice but to follow.

Carefully he started to walk and he just hoped that his legs wouldn't give out under him, but he slowly felt the hold of the drug getting less and less and maybe he might have a real fighting chance soon.

Moreau was waiting for Eliot on the first steps of the stairs down and let the Hitter pass.

"Are you okay to walk, or do you want me to carry you?" the alpha questioned with a smirk in his eyes.

Eliot tensed a little, but then he glared at Moreau.

"I can walk on my own, thank you very much," he growled and then just to prove his point, he started taking the steps towards solid ground.

That he had to use the handrail or he would have fallen, was something he completely ignored.

He could hear Moreau chuckle behind him and he did his best to ignore the werewolf behind him.

Instead he tried to focus on his surroundings. He needed to memorize almost everything, knowing that it would be helpful should he get a chance to flee.

And under different circumstances he would have admired the mansion Moreau led him to.

It reminded him of their temporary offices during the second David job, even though it was even bigger.

And once again he felt a pang of sadness when he thought of his team and he again wondered if they were even still alive or if Chapman had told the truth.

"Welcome to your new home," Moreau suddenly whispered into his ear, once again standing directly behind him.

Eliot once again didn't even bother to answer him, because it took most of his strength to just stand upright and to control his anger and do something he might regret.

But when Moreau's finger traced over the leather collar around his neck, Eliot whipped around, well, as fast as the drugs allowed and spat the werewolf in the face.

The next thing he felt, was a blinding pain in his right cheek and black spots appeared in front of his eyes and with the drugs still in his system, his knees gave out and he would have fallen if Moreau hadn't caught him with a tight grip around his upper arms and Eliot was pretty sure that it would leave bruises.

"Don't ever do that again or you will be punished," the werewolf snarled and his eyes flashed yellow, so Eliot knew how dangerously close Moreau was to letting his wolf out.

So he decided not to anger the other man even more and just stood still, waiting what Damien would do now.

He was a little surprised when Moreau only let go of his arms and shoved him forward.

"I imagine you need to rest a little after everything, Eliot, so I'm going to show you your rooms and then I will need to leave you alone for a while, because I have , but don't worry, you will have my full attention tonight."

The glint in Moreau's eyes told Eliot that he really wouldn't like Damien's attention tonight, but there was not really much he could do right now, so he just let himself be let through the mansion, counting the guards in his mind, just hoping to find an opening so that he could at least try to get out of here...

.

* * *

.

"Nate, do you really think that's a good idea?"

Sophie stared at Nathan when the vampire parked his car in front of an old Victorian mansion.

Parker and Hardison were in the backseat of the car and the hacker's head was resting in Parker's lap, because he was lying across the seat.

Hardison felt a lot better after the doctor had checked him through and had given him some medication and the advice to rest for a few days.

Nathan had considered leaving him and Parker at the headquarters, but he didn't dare to, because he feared Moreau might attack them again when he realized that the team was still alive.

So he wanted to keep a close eye on his team and had taken them with him to meet the elders.

Sure, Parker didn't have the best experiences with vampires, but with Nathan there, none of them would dare to lay a single finger on her or Hardison or they would regret it.

Nate sighed and ran a hand over his face, before he turned his head to face Sophie.

"No, I'm not sure, but we need to find that bomb and we need to find Eliot as soon as possible and we need help for that. And maybe the Elders do have an idea where Moreau could be," he explained.

Yeah, he himself didn't feel too comfortable to ask for any favors from the Elders, because getting them mostly meant they wanted something from you in return, but Nate hoped that they'd make an exception, since he was the Prince and would one day be the leader, as soon as his father decided to retire or as soon as Nate challenged him.

And Nate was even prepared to do that if that meant getting Eliot back.

Sophie only nodded, because she knew that there was no way to change Nate's mind and if she was honest with herself, she knew that the Elders were their only chance here.

Parker and Hardison, who had slowly sat up.

"So this is a vampire's headquarter? Isn't that a little old-fashioned and even cliched?" the Hacker questioned, glancing out the window at the big Victorian house.

"It's one of many, and what can I say, the Elders like to keep it traditional." Sophie explained with a slight smile.

Nathan chuckled a little and then he turned his head to look at the two youngest members of his team.

.

"I need you to stay close to me, okay? There are a lot of vampire's in there and even though most of them consider humans as equals, there are still a few who don't do that and who would probably love to claim you or kill you and feed from you. So it's important that they see that you're with me and Sophie."

Nathan's voice was firm and serious and his eyes searched especially Parker's. The blonde thief was known to stray once in a while and when she found an air vent or something like that.

Hardison probably wasn't that much of a problem, because he was still a little handicapped with his slight concussion and Nathan hoped that Parker would be too focused on taking care of the Hacker to get any dangerous ideas.

Hardison made a face.

"I've heard that sentence before today and when I did, I ended up in a pool, nearly drowning," he commented, but quickly lowered his eyes when Nate growled at him and when he thought that, yes, in the end Eliot had probably saved his life.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Nathan sighed, but let it slide for now and finally got out of the car.

His team followed, Hardison slightly leaning on Parker, because he was a bit unsteady on his feet.

Nate lead them to the iron gate where a man stood.

"Master Nathan," the vampire, if his red eyes were any indication, said and bowed his head respectfully.

"Richard," Nathan replied.

"I assume that the Elders are waiting?" he then asked and Richard nodded while he opened the gate for Nathan and his team.

"They await you," the vampire confirmed and then led Nathan, Hardison, Parker and Sophie into the house and through various hallways until they stopped in front of double doors.

Nathan took a deep breath, before Richard opened the doors and let him enter the room.

The rest of the team followed and Parker and Hardison were a little uncomfortable.

Sophie looked almost disinterested in her surroundings.

But before Nathan could focus on the Elders, who were sitting on elegant armchairs at the other end of the room, a voice from his left startled him.

"Ciao, Mr. Ford."

.

to be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Okay, again, I'm awfully sorry that it took me so long to update this, but I really couldn't decided in which direction I wanted to take this story *sighs*

But I've finally decided and I really hope you don't hate me for the direction I take this story *sighs again*

And I'm really sorry that there's no Eliot in this chapter, but he will be in the next one *nods*

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**Well, yeah, I hope you enjoy the new chapter and please please read my question at the end of the chapter and answer it either in your review or per private message... it's important for me to know what you think *smiles sheepishly***

And keep in mind that English isn't my native language *smiles*

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Thank you to **Jesco123, SlytherinQueen020, SivanShemesh, whimseyrhodes, saides, eevee4ever2004, msdarque, Princessoffun, Karon Evertree, fro-chan** for all your kind reviews for the last chapter *hugs you all* They really mean a lot to me *smiles*

Reviews for this chapter would of course be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 8**

* * *

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"Ciao, Mr. Ford."

Even though the voice had tried its best to mock an Italian accent, there was no way that Nathan Ford would mistake that deep, husky voice he knew so well.

He whirled around to face the dark haired man standing to his left.

"Sterling," he growled and took a menacing step towards his former friend and colleague.

But Jim Sterling didn't even flinch, because he knew Nate and the team well enough to be sure that they wouldn't waste their time on this battle right now.

.

His eyes flashed yellow for a second, which made all the Elder growl for a second.

Parker gasped and pointed at Sterling while inching a little closer to Hardison and Sophie.

Jim Sterling had always given her the creeps, but after that she was downright afraid of the other man.

"You're a werewolf," she accused, because yes, she had a bad past with vampires, but to her werewolves were the greater evil right now, because they had kidnapped Eliot, her adopted big brother.

Sterling merely spared Parker a glance and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed that earlier. I mean, I honestly thought that you had figured it out by now or that Nate would at least have told you."

Sterling sounded almost disappointed in them, which made Nathan mad for some reason.

He half snorted half growled at Sterling.

"Why bother and tell them? We were making a point in staying away from you after our last encounters."  
Nate paused for a second and gave Sterling a calculating glance, before he continued, the sarcasm evident in his voice: "Congratulations on your new job with Interpol."

And despite all the sarcasm in his voice and no matter that he had other things to worry about, there still was a hint of honesty there, since he and Sterling had been good friends once, no matter that Jim was a werewolf.

.

"Thanks, but as you may have already guessed, my promotion is not the reason I'm here in a place full of vampires."

There was a slight hint of disgust in his voice, mostly directed at the Elders. They of course realized it and they all growled for a moment and would maybe even have attacked Sterling, if Nate hadn't put his hand up, silencing them, because as the Prince he had more authority than even the Elders.

Nathan then crossed his arms in front of his chest, not even bothering to really reign in his vampire, his eyes glowing a deep red, showing Sterling how angry he was.

He eyed the werewolf suspiciously, because yes, he wondered why Sterling had taken the risk and had walked straight into the lion's, or in this case, the vampire's den, in danger of just being killed, because even though Sterling was a powerful werewolf, an alpha, he wouldn't stand a chance against the whole Elder council.

And Nate also wondered why they had even let him in here.

"Well, as it seems we once again found ourselves with a common goal. And as always I'm one step ahead of you and can help you," Sterling told him, giving him a small smile, more a twitch of the lips than anything, but Nate had learned that that smile meant business and it usually was business Nate didn't like.

He was reminded of the one occasion they had really worked together with more or less a common goal, rescuing Maggie from rotting in jail in the Ukraine.

"And what would that be?" he questioned cautiously, because he didn't want to reveal too much of what was going on, especially not what kind of feelings he had towards Eliot.

.

Sterling chuckled darkly and his eyes flashed yellow for a second and Nate knew a challenge when he saw one, but his next words were the last straw.

"Let's just say we have the same taste when it comes to potential mates."

And his vampire gave an angry hiss, because Nathan suddenly realized exactly why Sterling had taken all those risks.

The former insurance investigator didn't even bother to hold back his vampire and he suddenly lunged at Sterling, one hand around the werewolf's throat.

Sterling howled and was about to fight back, when suddenly a booming voice echoed through the hall.

"Enough of that petty fighting over a potential mate, no matter how powerful and precious that mate is."

Nate immediately dropped his hands and finally reigned in his demon.

.

He gave a quick glance to Sophie, Hardison and Parker, the latter two taking cover behind Sophie's small back, who did her best to shield them from the looks of the Elder Vampires, what Nate noted with satisfaction.

Hardison and Parker looked confused as to what was going on, because they hadn't heard the quiet words from Sterling.

Sophie, who also hadn't heard, could guess what was going on when she had seen Nate's sudden reaction towards Sterling.

There was only one thing that could have enraged Nathan in such a short period of time in front of the Elders, and that was Sterling expressing an interest in mating with Eliot.

_/What__ does __make __Eliot __so __interesting__ for__ vampires __and__ werewolves?/_ she wondered, because occasionally she also had harbored the thought to try and lay claim on the younger man, but as soon as Nate had made it clear that he wanted the Hitter, she had backed away.

And she also was pretty sure that Eliot wouldn't submit to her since he was too strong and too independent to submit to many vampires or werewolves.

Sophie rid herself of those thoughts and turned her head towards the voice that had spoken.

.

The leader of the Elder council had stood up from his seat and was looking at Nate angrily.

Sure, Nathan was the vampire prince, but there were still rules to be followed in the Assembly hall of the Elder council and even Nate had to obey those.

And one of those rules was no fighting with a guest of the Elders.

Apparently Jim Sterling was just that.

So Nathan stopped his vampire from regaining control again. It wouldn't do him any good to kill Sterling anyway.

The werewolf seemed to really have come to help and if he really was interested in mating with Eliot, then he could really help them.

But the words of the Eldest had given Nathan an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

He stepped forward after giving his team a reassuring glance, especially Parker and Hardison, who were quite obviously lost what on earth was going on here, but at least both held their tongues for now, knowing that they were in way over their head right now.

"Elder William, I'm sorry for my little slip, but would you please tell me what you mean by "a powerful and precious mate"?"

Nathan could finally ask the question that had been growing within him ever since he had realized that he wanted to mate with Eliot.

Something about the Hitter was different, he had realized that from the very beginning.

And he had threatened a few of the vampires and werewolves they had encountered to leave Eliot alone.

So he wasn't the only one who felt it.

And it was very rare that a human appealed to both werewolves and vampires, so there had to be an explanation for that.

.

Elder William was a small man, maybe just about Parker's height with gray hair and steel blue eyes, but he carried himself with an air of authority that told almost everybody that they should not mess with the leader of the Elder vampires.

Now William, who had lived over six hundred years now, and so was one of the oldest vampires nowadays, had a smile on his lips that Nathan had seldom seen on the other man.

The Elder cleared his throat.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yourself by now, my Prince. You should have realized long ago what makes Eliot Spencer so special."

He turned his head away from Nate and glared at Sterling, his steel blue eyes turning red for just a second.

"Mr. Sterling has already realized it and I fear that Damien Moreau will realize it soon too, if he hasn't already. And so it is essential to free Eliot Spencer before Moreau gets the chance to fully mate with him," he explained and waved his hand to a vampire guard.

"Bring me the 'Book'," he ordered and the young man bowed and hurriedly left the room.

Nathan looked at the council of the Elders, still a little lost as to what exactly was going on right now.

.

He could hear Parker whisper to Sophie.

"What's so special about Sparky? And what book?"

Nate couldn't help the fond smile appearing on his face for a second when he heard Parker's curious and innocent questions.

And if he had an answer to her first question, he probably would have given it to her, but he didn't, except that Eliot simply was special.

Nate knew that he just needed to connect the dots in his head and he would figure it out, but somehow he couldn't.

And the smug smile Sterling shot him, because he knew something Nate didn't, made him so angry that it took all of his self-control to reign in his vampire and that in turn made it hard to think.

Parker's second question was answered by Sophie, who also didn't seem to really get what Elder William had talked about.

"He's asking for the Book of Ancients, it's, to put it simply, the history of the Vampires," she explained and Parker seemed satisfied with this answer, because she nodded.

.

Nathan was glad for that and turned his attention back to Elder William.

He finally wanted an answer as to why Eliot was so important, but he knew he would only get that answer once the Book of Ancients was here, so he posed the second question he really needed an answer to.

"But why did you even let Sterling in here?"

Elder William grimaced a little.

"We didn't want to, but we know that you two have worked together before and as much as it pains me to say this, he can be a big help in getting Eliot Spencer back. Maybe he is your only chance to stop Moreau from claiming the human," the vampire explained, falling back into his chair with a sigh.

Nate raised an eyebrow and turned to Sterling, trying not to sound too curious and hopeful when he asked: "And how can you help us?"

Sterling only smirked.

"Well, maybe because I know exactly where Damien Moreau is at this moment," he stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but Nate's eyes widened and his vampire suddenly felt hopeful again that they would get Eliot back.

But by Sterling's next words, the hope was replaced by intense fury, all directed towards the alpha werewolf who had dared to take Eliot from him.

"Like all Alphas around the world, I've gotten an invitation to Damien Moreau's 'Claiming Ceremony'".

.

to be continued... if you want me to, especially after reading my following question *ducks*

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**Okay, here comes the question I mentioned in the A/N:** Well, after Nate and Eliot are mated (or even Moreau and Eliot), I'm toying with the idea of giving them children, because I seriously love how Eliot is with children and I have a few ideas in mind how to achieve that, but I'd really like to know if you think it's a good idea and if you like the idea how you would give them children *smiles sheepishly*

If you don't like the thought of them with kids you can tell me that too, since I haven't decided yet and I'm really not too sure how this is going to fit into the story...


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hey everybody, here comes a new chapter and I really, really hope you like it, because it really resisted to be written *smiles sheepishly* I hope the chapter is okay though and I really hope you will like it *smiles hopefully*

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And thank you everybody for your thoughts on the kids-issue *smiles* It didn't really help me reach my final decision, because right now I feel like I'm going to lose some readers no matter what I do, but I guess it can't be helped *sigh* But then again, I hope you will enjoy the story no matter which way it goes *smiles*

I haven't come to a final decision if it's going to have kids and if it has kids if it's going to be MPreg, but rest assured that I will put warnings in the chapter if it's going to happen so you can stop reading if you don't want to read MPreg...

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Comments for this chapter would be most appreciated though *smiles*

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Thank you to **MujokenKofukuron, Softball Angel, Princessoffun** (well, you'll just have to wait and see if Eliot will just submit to Nate *evil grin at the plan in my head*), **ElaiisTaiE, saides, kkatee** (thank you for all the insight and taking the time for such a long review, I really appreciated it and it helped me a lot *smiles*), **eevee4ever2004, msdarque, fro-chan** (ich finds immer wieder toll, deine Kommis in Deutsch zu lesen, auch wenn ich immer einen Moment brauche mein Hirn umzustellen XD), **Eluvcuddles, Jesco123, Karon Evertree, debra and winchester-grl44 **(don't worry, the story isn't abandoned, I just have a lot of things going on in RL so I can't write as much as I want to) for all your kind comments for the last chapter *hugs you all*

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**Warnings for this chapter:** Well, I guess slight non-con, but nothing too explicit and not more than in earlier chapters...

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**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 9**

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Eliot had no idea when he had fallen asleep and how long he had been sleeping when suddenly Moreau entered the spacious rooms that were now Eliot's prison.

All the Hitter knew was, that he was dead tired and still could barely stand on his own, so he hadn't even tried to fight the sleep, because he knew there was nothing he could do about his situation right now.

And Moreau, true to his word, had left him shortly after showing him his new home, as Damien called it.

And under other circumstances Eliot might even have found the room comfortable and would have enjoyed the soft bed he had been lying on.

But Eliot knew exactly what this room was: it was his prison and nothing else.

There were no windows and the door was a heavy steel door with a pretty secure high tech lock.

And Damien had once again shown how well he knew Eliot and that he wouldn't underestimate the Hitter again, because he had made sure there was absolutely nothing in the room that Eliot could use as a weapon against the alpha werewolf.

And since Eliot was so tired and his left hand was cuffed to the bedpost, the Hitter had decided to give his body the much needed rest.

.

But now, with Damien's return, Eliot was wide awake in an instant, even though his body still felt heavy and he could barely move his legs and arms and it took him a felt eternity to sit up and face the werewolf with an unreadable expression on his face.

Whatever drug Moreau had given him, was pretty powerful and Eliot sure as hell didn't like it.

Damien wore that smug grin on his face that Eliot had come to hate by now and he clapped his hands together.

"I see you're awake again," the werewolf said with a smirk on his face.

Eliot only shrugged, well it was an awkward shrug, because his left arm was stretched out, his hand still cuffed to the bedpost.

And the shrug was the most his exhausted body allowed him to do.

He didn't even ask how Damien knew that he had been resting for the past hours, no matter how long it had been, because Eliot was pretty sure that there was camera hidden somewhere.

Moreau sure as hell wouldn't risk anything right now and Eliot had to admit, even though he didn't really want to, that he was impressed with Damien this time.

He really didn't give Eliot much of a chance to flee, not that Eliot would stop trying.

.

Damien had now fully entered the room and closed and more than likely locked the door behind him and he was just removing the jacket of his suit and loosening his tie.

Eliot growled a little when he realized that Damien was making himself comfortable as if he hadn't just kidnapped him, but he was too exhausted to do much more than growl.

Moreau chuckled again.

"Are you still tired?" he questioned in mock concern, walking closer to the bed, but then he stopped out of reach of Eliot, maybe not sure how weak the Hitter really was and not wanting to take unnecessary risks.

Eliot stared at the other man, fists clenched tightly.

"I'm sure you know exactly how tired I should be, am I right?" he questioned, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

He wouldn't let Moreau know how much the werewolf was getting to him.

Damien chuckled again, a sound Eliot now hated with a passion.

"Yeah, I know, El. The new dose Chapman injected you with while you were sleeping should make you docile enough," Moreau said with a shrug of his own shoulders.

Eliot stiffened and if he had had the energy he would have attacked Damien for calling him "El".

It had been a nickname the werewolf had come up with when they still had been sort of a couple.

Eliot hadn't minded back then, but he sure minded it now.

"I'll show you docile once this damn drug wears off," the Hitter spat, yanking at the cuff holding his hand to the bedpost, even though it took a lot more of his strength than it should have.

.

Moreau didn't seem the least impressed with Eliot's threat.

He just continued smiling at the younger man, taking another step closer.

"Believe it or not, I'm really looking forward to the feral side of you once we're mated, I'm sure it will be quite the experience in bed."

And before Eliot knew what was happening, Moreau pounced on him, throwing him backwards on the bed, straddling his hips, his hands on either side of Eliot's head.

The Hitter hadn't been prepared for that sudden attack and with the drug in his system there was no way he could defend himself.

He just stared up at the werewolf, once again not trying to show the fear he felt, but Moreau could probably smell it anyway.

Eliot's face hardened and he looked directly into Moreau's eyes, shuddering a little when Damien's eyes flashed yellow for a second.

"I'll never be your mate, Damien. I refused you once and I'll continue to do so," he growled, trying to sound more confident than he really was, his free hand slowly pulling back to punch the Alpha with all the strength he still possessed.

But Damien seemed to read his mind, because suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed the Hitter's wrist, pushing it down beside Eliot's head.

The younger man struggled a little, but when he saw the almost excited glint in Moreau's eyes, he immediately stopped his struggles.

The last thing he wanted, was to turn the werewolf on, especially in the position he found himself in right now.

.

Damien lowered his head so that his mouth was directly beside Eliot's ear.

"The bond has already started, El and the day after tomorrow we'll have our official "Claiming Ceremony"," he almost purred and started nuzzling Eliot's neck.

The Hitter let out a frustrated growl and started struggling again, this time he didn't care if it turned Moreau on or not, he just wanted the other man to stop treating him like his personal toy.

And Damien's words had scared him a little.

How on Earth could they already have started a bond?

Eliot knew that they hadn't started one when they had first landed in bed together, because Eliot had made sure not to drink any blood, which was necessary to start a bond.

So as long as he hadn't drunk any blood and Moreau hadn't gotten his hands on Eliot's blood, there was no way a bond could have started to form.

It was almost a little scary how Moreau seemed to read his mind, because he pulled back a little, his face still only inches away from Eliot's.

"I told you you're mine now and there's nothing you can do about it," he started and gripped Eliot's right wrist a little tighter.

Eliot looked at him with hatred in his eyes, not sure what to reply to that, because he still didn't really believe that they had already started a bond.

Shouldn't he feel something if they did?

Once again Moreau seemed to exactly read his mind.

"Oh Eliot, you're already feeling the effects, or why do you think you're so tired from just an ordinary drug, especially when I'm with you?"

Damien chuckled when Eliot's eyes widened in horror.

"You... you mixed your blood into it, didn't you?" the Hitter questioned, hating how his voice quivered a little.

Moreau looked almost proud that Eliot had figured it out so quickly.

"Yes, I did indeed and I also took some of your blood while you were sleeping so no matter if you like it or not, we've started to bond. And your subconsciousness has already recognized that bond, no matter if you want to admit it or not."

Eliot felt almost sick at that thought, but it all made horrible sense. He could barely attack Moreau, no matter how much he wanted to.

And the Hitter knew enough about werewolf-mating to know that this was part of the mating process.

His subconsciousness was starting to accept Moreau as a dominant mate...

.

_/No, I will fight this, I'm not going to submit to the bastard. He played dirty and I won't let him win./ _Eliot swore to himself.

And once again he hoped desperately that Nate and the team were still alive, because right now there was no way he would get out of it without their help.

"I will never submit to you," he snarled, struggling again just to make his point.

Moreau, however, was clearly unimpressed.

"It's not in your hands anymore, Eliot. The day after tomorrow we'll be bonded to each other and all Alphas over the world will know that you're mine and they will have to accept that I'll be the most powerful Alpha now."

Damien smiled at Eliot and fingered the collar around Eliot's neck, which made the Hitter snarl and feel incredibly humiliated.

But then he questioned through gritted teeth: "And why would they accept you as the most powerful Alpha just because you forced me to become your mate?"

Eliot wasn't really sure if he wanted an answer to the question, but he was finally sick and tired of all those ominous comments he had gotten when another werewolf or vampire had offered him to become their mate.

Moreau chuckled again and his face came even closer to Eliot's so that the Hitter could feel the other man's breath against his own lips and subconsciously he licked his own lips for a second, swallowing nervously.

He hated to be in this position and not having a chance to fight back. He was Eliot "fucking" Spencer for god's sake, one of the best retrieval specialists in the whole world.

And he knew as soon as he got the chance he would fight back, but right now he just couldn't do a damn thing about what was happening.

Eliot knew that wasting energy in a battle he couldn't win, would only make him lose the war, but every inch of him itched to fight.

"Oh El, I'm surprised you haven't been more curious about what makes you so special and why a lot of us want you as their mate," he whispered and ran the hand that wasn't holding Eliot's free hand in a tight grip, through Eliot's hair in an almost gentle gesture, but the touch also spoke of possessiveness.

"I never did care, Damien, because I won't submit to any of you," Eliot snarled. Sure, he couldn't fight with his fists, but he could at least tell Moreau that he wouldn't give in easily to assure himself that he still had the will to fight.

.

Damien's grin only widened.

"Don't fight the inevitable, El," was all he replied, because he was tired of fighting the inevitable with Eliot when they could do much more pleasurable things.

So without further ado he closed the remaining distance and pressed his lips against Eliot's in an almost bruising kiss.

God, how he had missed that during the tiring meeting with other wolves and business associates who helped him organize the "Claiming Ceremony".

He held the kiss for as long as possible and he almost felt smug when Eliot didn't even fight him.

Of course, the Hitter didn't exactly respond to the kiss, but he also didn't try to bite Moreau's tongue off, a sure sign that the bond had really started to form.

Moreau only broke the kiss when he needed air.

Eliot had gone deadly still underneath him and the only movement was the rapid rising and falling of his chest and Damien felt himself grow hard when he saw the flushed cheeks of his soon-to-be-mate.

"Damn El, you look delicious enough to eat right now, but unfortunately ravishing you has to wait until the official claiming," he said a little disappointed, his eyes traveling all over the firm body underneath him.

His wolf howled in protest, but Moreau ignored him for now.

If he wanted to bind Eliot to himself he had to honor the law and the ceremonial.

Well, he had waited for years to have Eliot in his bed again, he could wait a few more days.

Damien also didn't miss the relieved sigh Eliot gave, even though he tried to mask it with a low growl.

He chuckled and rolled to the side, so that he was resting on the bed beside the hitter and he fished a second pair of steel cuffs from the desk-drawer beside the bed and he cuffed Eliot's right wrist to his left wrist.

Once he had done that, he wrapped his arm around Eliot's waist, pulling the Hitter close and almost blanketing the shorter man with his own body.

"We both need rest, El," he murmured and kissed Eliot's neck, a gentle gesture that surprised even Eliot and seconds later the werewolf had fallen asleep, almost purring softly, which disturbed Eliot more than a little.

.

But then again, the Hitter knew that deep down Moreau really loved him and that the werewolf did a good job at ignoring that Eliot didn't want him.

Eliot gave a deep sigh and tried to get comfortable, which wasn't easy with his hands cuffed to the bedpost and with Moreau wrapped around him almost like a blanket, the werewolf's hardness pressing against his back.

But then again, he had slept in much more uncomfortable positions and he had to make the most of

it, because he really needed the rest to get his strength back to get out of here.

Before he closed his eyes to fall into a deep, nightmare-haunted sleep, his last conscious thought was to Nate.

_/Please get me out of here, Nate. You're the only one I want to mate with./_

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to be continued... if you still want me to...


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Yay, I finished a new chapter *g* It's the first chapter of any story I have written on my new laptop *smiles*

Well, I really, really hope you like it, because again it has taken a totally different direction than I wanted it to take, but somehow I still like it and I hope you do too *smiles*

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**Oh and a little something:** I have started an Angel/Leverage crossover called "The LA Song Job" and I'd really appreciated it, if you'd read it and maybe tell me if you like it, if you haven't done so already and if you're even interested in it *smiles*

.

Comments for this chapter are, of course, most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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Thank you to **Princessoffun, SlytherinQueen020, Jesco123, saides, TerrorThatLurksInYerBathtub, eevee4ever2004, fro-chan, msdarque, imixeu, froggycomics, McCoy's Secret Lover, bluesister02 and Shea **for all your kind comments for the last chapter *hugs you all*

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**Warnings:** slight non-con for now

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 10**

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"Like all Alphas around the world, I've gotten an invitation to Damien Moreau's 'Claiming Ceremony'"

The matter of fact way with which Sterling delivered the sentence made Nate believe him at once and it would also fit Damien Moreau. The werewolf liked to flaunt his possessions and if Eliot really was so special then it made even more sense for Moreau to want to let the whole world know that the Hitter was his.

Nate snarled at Sterling, but then he refrained from attacking him, since he knew that, whatever he thought, this was not Sterling's fault.

Actually, it gave them an advantage that Moreau probably hadn't counted on, because Nathan was pretty sure that the werewolf didn't think Sterling would work with the team to free Eliot.

So Nathan reigned in his vampire for now, because he also didn't want another reprimand from Elder William for fighting in the Council Halls.

It didn't stop him from glaring at Sterling though since Nate wasn't too sure how to act around the werewolf right now. It bothered him that Jim seemed to know something that he didn't know about his Hitter.

.

Nate was about to ask Elder William a few more questions when suddenly he felt a stabbing pain in his chest, specifically in his heart... it felt like it was ripped out of his chest and that was something Nate hadn't felt in quite a long time, because his heart hadn't beat in over 300 hundred years. His vampire howled in misery and Nate felt like the demon was going to be ripped out of his chest. Nathan gritted his teeth and sank to his knees when the pain became too much. His vision swam and he wasn't sure how, but he suddenly had the feeling that he was seeing Eliot's pleading face, something he had never seen before, and he could almost hear him whisper "_Please get me out of here, Nate. You're the only one I want to mate with"._

Nate's vampire howled louder and Nate felt a rush in his ears, before he closed his eyes again.

.

"Nate!"

Sophie was by his side immediately and Parker and Hardison followed close behind, surrounding their leader, all with concerned looks on their faces and there was also a slightly pained expression on Sophie's face.

Sterling merely looked on, his face impassive, even though everybody who would have looked closer at the werewolf would have seen the pained lines creasing his forehead before the mask was back in place. But everybody was concentrated on Nate, so nobody saw, well, except Elder William, who only raised his eyebrow.

"Nate? What's wrong?" Parker questioned, gripping Hardison's arm tightly. She was so worried about Eliot and Hardison and now Nathan too seemed to be in pain and that made her very nervous and of course very angry in her special place.

Only all the vampires present stopped her from lashing out at Sterling, because he was the only one here who'd hurt Nate and so he had to be responsible, right? Parker wasn't sure what to think, because Sterling hadn't even touched Nathan, but then again, everything was possible with vampires and werewolves...

.

Only Nate's next reaction stopped Parker from getting too worked up over everything. The vampire waved Sophie's hands off and straightened his legs again. As sudden as the pain had started, hit was gone again and so was Eliot's voice in his head.

Elder William, who had watched everything in silence and concern but with great interest too, took a step towards his prince.

"Are you alright, Prince Nathan?" he asked.

Nate nodded and ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"I think I'm okay now," he assured and then he sighed, knowing that everybody wanted an explanation what had happened.

So he took a deep breath and started his explanation: "For a second all I felt was pain and like my vampire was ripped away from me. It's a pain I haven't felt in a long time and my vampire has never hurt so much before."

Nate stopped and took another deep breath, because even the remembered pain exhausted him a little. Only after he done so, he continued, but his voice was so quiet, even as if he couldn't really believe what had just happened and as if the others would think he was crazy.

"And I thought I saw and heard Eliot. He was calling out to me... he asked me to save him."

Nathan was prepared that Elder William would really call him crazy, respectfully of course, because even as an Elder you better didn't call your prince crazy.

What Nate wasn't prepared for, was Elder William staring at him with wide eyes and something akin to admiration.

"We all knew that Eliot Spencer was powerful, but even the Council had no idea he was that powerful," the Council Leader said quietly.

Nate looked at the vampire in front of him in confusion, really not sure how he should respond to that.

.

Luckily Sophie was the one who saved him from the need to reply to Elder William's words.

"What does Nate's pain have to do with Eliot being so powerful?" she questioned and she got the feeling that she hadn't imagined her vampire hiss in pain at the exact same moment Nate had fallen to his knees.

Elder William didn't answer at first, instead he turned to the young vampire, who had returned to the room with a thick, leather-bound book held carefully in his hands. Elder William took it from the young man's hands, who bowed and then backed away. The Elder didn't even look at him again, because he was already skimming through the pages of the book, handling every page with caution, afraid that the pages might crumble to dust if he wasn't careful enough.

It took him a while to find what he had been looking for, but he finally did and his eyes flew over the page and he nodded slowly, as if he was reaffirming something he knew, but wasn't sure if he really remembered it right.

When Elder William was finished, he closed the book, handed it to the young vampire again, who hurried out of the room and then he finally looked at Nate again.

Then Elder William looked at Sophie, because it had been her, who had asked the question and it would be impolite to not talk directly to her when he answered.

"Prince Nathan has just learned what it feels like to receive a distressed cry for help from his true mate."

Nate's eyes widened at the older vampire's words. Of course he knew about those distress calls that submissives sent to their mates when they were in real danger and because there was such a strong connection between true mates, the called mate felt the pain too. It normally also allowed the vampires to find their chosen mate, but Eliot and he weren't mated... they hadn't even started to form a bond through blood.

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"But Nate and Eliot aren't mated," Sophie said the words aloud that Nathan had only been thinking and when she saw he was too stunned to say them in the foreseeable future. And a little hesitant the female vampire added: "And I felt something call for my vampire too at the same time Nate did, even though it wasn't nearly as strong as Nate has experienced it."

Now Nathan looked at her with surprise and something akin to jealousy and she just shrugged apologetically. She had no interest in mating with Eliot anymore, because deep down she knew that he was Nate's mate. Sophie had just explained what she had felt, because they needed to get to the bottom of all of this.

Elder Williams had a small smile on his lips, even though nobody could tell if it was a happy one.

"It was to be expected. And I'm pretty sure Mr. Sterling has felt the same slight pain and the call for his wolf," he stated, his voice calm, but his eyes full of curiosity.

All eyes turned to Sterling, who had been silent throughout the whole exchange and now felt slightly uneasy to have the attention of the whole Elder Council and of the Leverage team too. He hesitated a second and then he nodded.

"Yes, my wolf felt the call too, even though I also had no idea what it was," he finally admitted and ignored the angry snarl from Nate for now, because he had almost expected it.

And he also knew that fighting wouldn't do him any good right now and Nathan seemed to agree with him for once, because except the angry growl, Nate continued to ignore him. Instead he concentrated on what else Elder William had to say. And Nathan really hoped that he'd get some answers to all of his questions soon or he might go crazy.

Elder William knew that especially Nate wouldn't like what he had to say next, but it needed to be said.

"I am pretty sure that a few other werewolves and vampires all over the world, who have gotten to know Eliot Spencer a little better, have felt the call too, even though they won't really know who called out to them and will dismiss it."

Elder William stopped to let his words sink in and then he continued before anyone could ask why this was the case.

"They will have felt it, if they have expressed a genuine desire to mate with Eliot Spencer and don't just want to mate with him because of how powerful he is," he finished his explanation and Nate really didn't like to hear that.

If Sterling had really felt the distress call from Eliot, then that meant that his interest in the Hitter was genuine and not just for power and that made things a whole lot more complicated.

.

Sophie rubbed her cheek for a second and then she said: "But I don't want to mate with Eliot anymore. I mean, I considered it, but now I have realized that it would never work. So why did I feel it too?"

Elder William gave her a genuine smile and answered: "Because you care about Eliot Spencer so much as a friend and are so close to him, your vampire will feel the connection."

Sophie nodded, because that made a lot of sense. Yes, she cared about Eliot and she wanted to save him from Moreau.

Nathan was just relieved that at least Sophie wasn't a rival for him, because that would be pretty awkward, not to mention bad for the team.

"Why did Nate experience the pain so much more than Sterling did? And why did he feel anything at all, since Eliot and Nathan aren't mated yet?"

To everyone's surprise it was Hardison, who had asked the question and he seemed genuinely interested in an answer. The Hacker had also finally overcome his shock over where he was and what had happened this past day.

Elder William looked at the human with a warm expression on his face to assure the young man that it was perfectly okay for him to ask questions, because he had heard the hesitation and fear in the young Hacker's voice.

Then he spoke to everybody again: "As I told you before, Eliot Spencer is special and he has powers that not even he himself is aware of."

He didn't want to elaborate on that, because that was something Nathan needed to figure out for himself, so Elder William continued: "I have to admit that I'm not entirely certain why Prince Nathan experienced a full cry for help even though he and Mr. Spencer aren't mated yet, but I have got a theory."

"And what would that theory be?"

Nathan's patience was getting thinner and thinner with every passing second. He wanted a few answers and then he wanted to find Eliot, take him away from Moreau and never let him out of his sight again and preferably never let him out of his bed again either.

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Elder William gave Nathan a slight reprimanding look, because he didn't like it when he was interrupted, no matter if it was his prince or not.

Then he answered: "I think that you felt the call so much, my Prince, was because Eliot has been calling out directly to you and he is probably finally ready to submit to you and accept you as a mate."

The words gave Nathan so much hope and the desire to find Eliot grew stronger and stronger.

_/Hang in there, Eliot, I'll get you out of there and then I'm going to make you mine./_ he thought, hoping that those calls worked both ways and that it would be enough to assure Eliot and to tell him that he needed to keep fighting Moreau because the team was coming for him.

He turned to Sterling.

"Since you have gotten the invitation to Moreau's ceremony and you have come here, that makes me think that you have a plan to get Eliot out of this bastard's clutches," he said, trying to keep his voice even. For now he needed to work with Sterling to free Eliot. And then he could make sure that his former friend wouldn't go near his Hitter ever again.

Sterling's face was still unreadable and Nate was pretty sure that he already had a plan on how to get Eliot as his mate too, but Nathan would do something against that when he had Eliot back safe.

The werewolf nodded, a smirk finally breaking the unreadable expression on his face and Nathan and the rest of the team was immediately alarmed, but right now they really needed his help. Eliot was more important and so they could all swallow their pride for once.

Sterling's smirk only grew when he saw that Nathan wasn't going to say something sarcastic and so he

"Yes, I have a plan, but I'm sure if you're not going to like it..."

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* * *

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Eliot's eyes suddenly snapped open and this time it didn't take long for him to figure out where he was, since Moreau was still wrapped around him, asleep, but even in his sleep, he held on to Eliot tightly and licked his neck from time to time.

And Eliot was pretty sure that it hadn't been too long since he had fallen asleep too. For a moment he wondered why he had woken up again, but he strongly suspected that it was because of the nightmare he had been having.

Eliot was a little shocked to feel a single tear roll down his cheek, because Eliot barely ever cried.

But then he suddenly remembered that it hadn't been a nightmare that had woken him up, no, quite the contrary...

.

There had suddenly been a warm feeling in his heart, chasing the nightmares away and then Eliot remembered Nate's voice... he had heard it clearly and somehow he was pretty sure that it hadn't been a dream. And the words that Nate had spoken in his dreams had been so full of love and compassion.

_/Hang in there, Eliot, I'll get you out of there and then I'm going to make you mine./_

Those words had made Eliot so relieved that he had allowed a tear to fall. Nate was alive and he was coming for him... and if Nate was alive then the rest of the team was alive too, Eliot just felt that.

And that made him so happy and gave him new strength to fight the bond between him and Moreau. With a small smile on his lips, he closed his eyes again and fell asleep, this time nightmare-free and his last conscious thought was, that he would fight Moreau with everything he had until his team came and freed him...

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to be continued...

And like I mentioned in the A/N, I'd really be happy if you'd take a look at my Leverage/Angel Crossover *smiles*


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hey everybody, sorry that it took me so long, but here it is... the next chapter. And just like the last chapter, I'm not sure if you will really like it, especially after everything I've done to Eliot in this chapter *hides somewhere safe*

But no matter what I think, I really hope you enjoy it and will continue reading the story *hopeful smile*

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Thank you to **SivanShemesh, SlytherinQueen020, saides, msdarque, Jesco123** (well, I don't even like Sterling's plan *g*), **TerrorThatLurksInYerBathtub X3, Bunnyslayer976, bluesister02, angelbun86, fro-chan, GalynSolo, Karon Evertree and ThexBrokenxMirror** for your kind words *hugs you all* I'm so glad you still stick with me *smiles*

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**Warnings:** slight non-con for now

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 11**

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The last two days had been hell for Eliot. He had been locked in the room for the whole time. Well, at least Damien had unchained him yesterday when he had realized that Eliot had been really uncomfortable and his hand had started to go numb. In addition to that, Eliot really got everything he wanted, as long as it couldn't be used as a weapon. Well, not that Eliot wasn't able to use everything as a weapon, but he had found out that hitting an alpha werewolf over the head with a book, even if it was "The Art of War", didn't have much effect on him, except pissing him off.

And Eliot still felt more humiliated than hurt from the punishment Moreau had given him. It had been a punishment that Damien had enjoyed way too much for Eliot's liking and to the Hitter's dismay, it had also hurt more than it should have. In fact, Eliot still wasn't able to sit totally comfortable.

Normally Eliot would have fought the werewolf with every fiber of his body during the embarrassing punishment, but the damn drugs made him weak and with his subconsciousness starting to accept Damien as his dominant mate, Eliot had been forced to just endure it. He could at least pride himself in the fact that he hadn't given Moreau the satisfaction to show how much he had hurt him and had cursed and ranted at him the whole time.

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The worst part of the last two days, however, had been during the night, when Damien had pulled him into his arms like he would do with a real lover and Eliot hadn't been able to do much about it, waking every morning with Damien's obvious arousal poking him in the back. That really wasn't so bad, because it wasn't the first time someone had tried to force himself on Eliot, but that Damien had actually refrained from doing more than cuddling and had tried to make Eliot as comfortable as possible, made things so much worse, because it painfully reminded him that this was what he could have had with Nate if he had just submitted to him when the vampire had offered.

But Eliot hadn't been ready then and he still wasn't sure if he was ready now, or if he could even get the chance to tell Nate how he felt. But at least Eliot now knew that Nate was still alive, or at least he hoped that he hadn't imagined Nathan calling out to him, telling him to keep fighting.

But Eliot feared that he might never get a chance with Nathan now.

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Eliot sighed and rolled onto his back, careful not to put too much pressure on his lower back, because that was still kind of uncomfortable, not that he'd ever admit that in front of anybody. He watched the ceiling for a moment and pondered what was going to happen today... today was the day of the "claiming ceremony" and even though he still didn't really know what exactly that meant, he was pretty sure he wouldn't like it.

At least it hopefully meant that he'd get out of this room, because Eliot was slowly going crazy in here and getting out of this room meant a higher chance of escaping.

The Hitter sighed again put one arm behind his head and closed his eyes for a moment. This whole situation was taking its toll on Eliot and it got harder and harder for him to hold on to the hope that Nate and the team would rescue him.

His other hand wandered to the small collar around his neck. Sometimes he was able to forget about it, but in moments like this he just couldn't. Eliot had tried to get rid of it, but nothing had worked and Moreau had told him that he'd just replace it with another one should Eliot succeed.

So the Hitter had stopped trying and pretended that it wasn't there, that Damien hadn't managed to collar him.

.

The little beep that told Eliot that the door had been unlocked, stopped his musings and he turned his head, expecting to see Moreau, but he was surprised to see Chapman and three other men entering the room.

Eliot sprung to his feet immediately. Sure, he couldn't attack Damien because of the starting bond, but Chapman and the other goons were fair game. He clenched his fists and was about to charge at the four men when Chapman calmly pulled out a weapon, pointing it at Eliot.

"Moreau told me not to hurt you, but if I had to to stop you, he said that your knee will heal quickly once you're mated," Chapman said, a smirk on his face and Eliot stopped dead in his tracks, cursed under his breath, before a new feeling of hopelessness washed through him and his shoulders slumped.

"What do you want?" he asked, hating how resigned his voice sounded, but the Hitter really was out of options right now and he hated that thought. The actual claiming ceremony was his last chance at escape, Eliot now realized. Maybe Moreau would let his guard down a little when he wanted to show off his power. Sure, a room full of alpha werewolves would make it harder to escape, much harder, but then again, he would at least have tried something.

_/And I'd rather be dead than mated to Damien./_ he tried to convince his subconsciousness, which was about the only part of his body and mind that had already accepted Damien Moreau as a mate.

Every other fiber of his being fought that beginning bond, no matter that it got harder and harder with every passing second and every hour he spent near Moreau.

.

Once again it was Chapman, who broke through Eliot's gloomy thoughts.

"Moreau sent me to give you your outfit for the ceremony and make sure that you dress appropriately before I am to bring you to him," he informed, again that almost mocking smirk on his face and Eliot wanted nothing more than to smack that smirk right out of the other man's face. But that surely wouldn't do him any good. Chapman still had the gun and the Hitter knew for a fact that he wouldn't hesitate to use it.

So instead he straightened again, trying to look intimidating and snarled: "I'm not wearing anything than the clothes I have on me." He wore a pair of jeans and a lose shirt that he had found in the drawers of one of the cupboards, because the clothes he had worn when Moreau had abducted him had been filthy and he had been glad for a change of clothes.

Chapman raised an eyebrow and looked for a moment at one of the men that had come with him and who carried a bag, probably with the clothes in it.

"Well, you can either wear those clothes and preserve some of your modesty or you can come completely naked. I know that most of Moreau's guests would appreciate the view, me included. But Damien is not good at sharing and he doesn't want them to see any more of you than they have to for the claiming. So you see, I'm fine either way," Chapman sounded a little too cheerful at the prospect of seeing Eliot naked for the Hitter to be comfortable with it.

.

"Give me the damn clothes," Eliot growled, holding out his hand towards the man with the bag in his hand. As much as he would probably hate the clothes, he still preferred them to having to face who knows how many werewolves completely naked. Besides, being naked would make a possible flight even more complicated.

Chapman nodded to the man, who carefully and rather quickly handed the bag to Eliot, pulling back his hand as quickly as possible and Eliot couldn't help but feel good about the fact that at least Moreau's men were still afraid of him, because he also knew that he could use that to his advantage.

He gave the man one last glare, the bag of clothes now in his hand and then he returned his attention to Chapman. Moreau's right hand still had the gun trained on him, giving him a severe advantage, especially because Eliot, as much as he hated to admit it, was still weaker than usual from all the drugs and from Moreau's blood in his system.

"I can get dressed on my own."

Chapman shrugged and finally lowered the gun a little, but still careful to be able to use it quickly.

"Be ready in fifteen minutes," he instructed and then he left Eliot alone again.

The Hitter waited until the door had closed and then he walked back to the bed, dropped the bag on it and then sat down himself, burying his face in his hands, another feeling of helplessness washing through him. He still had the hope that his team would come and rescue him, but it wasn't a big hope. The Hitter knew what Nate and the others were capable of, but even he had no idea how they were supposed to get him out of a room full of werewolves in less than an hour before Moreau finished the claiming. Eliot was still in the dark what exactly the claiming ceremony was, but he knew he wouldn't like it.

.

With disgust he grabbed the bag and opened it, his eyes widening when he saw what kind of clothes Moreau had sent him.

"Seriously?" he asked, just to get over his incredulity, pulling out the pants first, looking at them with even more disgust. The trousers were made of black leather and Eliot knew that they would be way too tight. The thing that made Eliot growl in anger, was the artistically stitched "DM" on the right butt cheek. It looked more like something out of an adult movie than something anyone would wear on an ordinary day.

Okay, this wasn't an ordinary day, not by any stretch of imagination, but then again, Eliot knew he'd look ridiculous in those trousers. He'd be totally uncomfortable, because he was a jeans guy and didn't like to wear much else. The Hitter didn't even want to see the shirt, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice. And looking at it wouldn't hurt, would it?

He reached into the bag and shook his head in dismay when he realized that it was made of fine silk. Eliot pulled the shirt out and stared at it with wide eyes. The shirt was red and looked pretty normal, it even had a color that Eliot liked, because it reminded him of Nate's eyes when the man let his vampire show, but that was about the only thing Eliot held in favor of the shirt.

.

For a moment he contemplated just trying to destroy the shirt and the trousers, but there was still the threat of having to go naked and that was a possibility Eliot liked even less. So he finally stood up from the bed and unbuttoned his own shirt, letting it slide from his shoulders. Then he took the red silk shirt in his hand, eyed it for a moment before putting it on. Eliot started to button it up and the he growled, when he realized that the buttons ended about halfway up, so that some of his chest and collarbone would show.

"Great," he murmured and pulled on the shirt to hide as much as possible, but he quickly realized that it was rather pointless. Obviously Moreau wanted to show him off after all, just not too much.

He then shrugged out of his jeans and Eliot picked up the trousers, again eying them with disgust. He hesitated for a second and then slowly pulled the leather garment up his legs. As he had suspected they were way too tight and didn't leave much to the imagination. Eliot looked down on him and as he had expected he really felt utterly ridiculous.

"I look like someone's boytoy," he murmured and seconds later Eliot realized with a feeling of dread that he was something like that. Damien might call him his mate, but so far Eliot hadn't felt like a true mate but more like an object.

.

_/Nate would never treat me like that./_ his mind told Eliot and again he regretted that he hadn't let Nathan claim him when the other had wanted to, because then he wouldn't be here right now. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, his hand then unconsciously brushing against the collar.

No, he still stood by the decision he had made a few days back when he had refused Nate. The Hitter knew he wouldn't have been happy if the mating had happened like that. And if, by some miracle, he would get the chance to get away from Moreau before the other man had mated with him, he wanted to have a proper mating with Nathan, one that would make both of them happy.

But first he needed to get away from here and then he could tell Nate how he felt, hoping that the vampire would still accept him as a mate, even after he had been tainted by Moreau's blood.

Eliot strengthened his resolve to fight Moreau as long as he could and believe in Nate, Parker, Hardison and Sophie. If there was a way to free him, then they would find him and would do anything to rescue him, that much Eliot knew and that helped him to keep his calm when the door opened once again and Chapman came in.

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The man looked Eliot up and down and again he had this smirk on his face and Eliot clenched his fists, his mind supplying him with a fantasy where he slowly strangled Chapman to death and that helped him to actually ignore that Chapman was practically undressing him with his eyes.

"Good to see you're ready to go, Eliot. Moreau is waiting and you know how impatient he can be and what happens when he gets like that," Chapman informed and Eliot gave him one of his death glares, noticing with satisfaction that Chapman actually took a step backwards.

The Hitter was about to put on his boots when Chapman shook his head.

"No shoes, Eliot," he demanded, once again pulling out the gun and training it on him. Eliot stopped in his tracks and looked at Chapman with irritation.

"Seriously?" he questioned, not sure what to make of that order. Chapman only shrugged.

"Damien doesn't want to take any chances and bare feet will make you think twice about running. Be glad that he refused my idea to clip a leash on your collar," he told him with a nasty smirk, before waving the two men into the room, who had so far waited in the doorway.

One of them carried a pair of leather cuffs and slowly approached Eliot, like one would appreciate a wild mustang, afraid to get attacked. Eliot looked at them man and then he finally snapped, not able to take all the humiliation he had been put through in the last days anymore. Without thinking twice he charged the man and with a strong punch he broke his nose, sending the goon to the ground, howling in pain.

A satisfied smile came to his face when he heard the yell and he turned, running towards the second man when a gunshot stopped him in his tracks. Eliot turned his head and looked at Chapman with wild eyes.

.

"Stop right there, Eliot. As I told you earlier, Moreau can claim you with an injured knee, so we can do this painful or painless," he threatened but Eliot wasn't ready to back down anymore.

"Then try to shoot me, Chapman. I know you can't kill me or Moreau will kill you, so you can only shoot to injure... and I can still kill you without the use of both legs or arms. So I think I'm going to take my chance with you."  
He took a menacing step towards Chapman, having come to the resolution that if he had to go down, he would go down fighting. But in his anger he was too focused on Eliot to see the second man coming up behind him and before he knew it, he felt a prick of pain in his neck. The Hitter immediately realized that he had been drugged again. His knees went weak and he would have tumbled to the ground if rough hands around his elbows had held him straight.

Chapman put the gun away and calmly walked towards him, picking up the leather cuffs on the way and calmly attaching them to Eliot's left wrist and then behind the Hitter's back to his right.

Eliot struggled weakly, but with the drugs in his system, probably laced with Moreau's blood again, he was no match for the two men. At least the one Eliot had punched was still out.

Chapman completely ignored him, sized Eliot's left upper arm and instructed the other man to take Eliot's left arm.

Together they dragged a barely conscious Eliot down a long hallway towards whatever destination, probably the place where the claiming ceremony would be held. Eliot tried to at least slow them down by playing dead weight, but Chapman and the nameless goon didn't care and just walked on.

.

Suddenly a door was opened and strong arms pulled Eliot against a broad chest. He was so used to that body holding him close by now, that he didn't even have to look up to know that it was Damien Moreau, who held him almost gently.

"Oh Eliot, why do you have to make this so difficult?" he murmured against the Hitter's ear, laughing when Eliot raised his head and glared at him with defiant eyes.

"I'll fight you to the very end," he growled.

Moreau just shook his head, looking almost sad and brushed his lips against Eliot's temple.

"You'll soon see things differently. And I can't really wait to be mated to you, El, especially when you look this delicious in clothes I chose for you." With those words Moreau, without much difficulties because of the strength his wolf gave him, hoisted Eliot up and cradled him against his chest, bridal style.

For Eliot it was a little uncomfortable with his hands cuffed behind his back but in his weakened state there wasn't much he could do.

"Fuck you," was all he managed to spit out, but again Damien only chuckled.

"Quite the contrary, El, it's you who's going to get fucked real soon. And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it." The words made Eliot freeze and he hated it that his cheeks burned with humiliation. Moreau tightened his hold on him and then he started walking through another door that Chapman dutifully opened for him.

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Eliot heard the loud intake of breath coming from dozens of people at once and his humiliation just grew. He instinctively turned his head away from the crowd, trying to pretend that he was unconscious and that was why Moreau had to carry him, because that would have been less humiliating than the current situation. He also felt his hopes turn to dust. It was probably only mere minutes until the bonding would be complete and then there wouldn't be anything anybody could to save him from being Moreau's mate for the rest of his life.

/I'm sorry, Nate./ he thought sadly and closed his eyes even tighter, not wanting to see what was going on around him.

If he had looked then he would have seen two faces in the crowd he wouldn't have expected to see, one dark haired head not as welcome and one blonde head, who could have been his saving grace right now.

But like this he didn't even react when he was lowered onto something soft, his hands uncuffed from behind his back and recuffed over his head.

Moreau kissed his forehead again, before he straightened and looked over all people present, a proud and satisfied smile on his face.

"Let the claiming ceremony begin..."

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to be continued...

Well, here it is... I hope it wasn't too bad and you don't hate me for this *sigh* I'm pretty unsure what to think about this chapter myself, but it wanted to be written that way, so yeah, I hope you enjoyed reading it and comments would of course be appreciated *smiles*

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**Oh and just if you're interested:** I've posted a second Eliot/Reid one shot as a second chapter to_** The Rescue a Genius Job**_ and I'd really appreciate it, if you'd take a look at it and maybe leave a review *smiles hopefully*


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Hey everybody, I'm really sorry that it took me so long to update this, but I at least managed to write a new chapter and I also posted the first chapter of my Angel/Lindsey story, so if anyone hasn't read it and might be interested to read it, please do so *hint hint* *smiles*

Well, since Nate was absent in the last chapters, he is more present in this one *smiles* But you don't get too much Eliot in this chapter I'm afraid... I just hope the little scene in the flashback with him can make up for it a little... *sheepish smile*

**To be honest I'm quite insecure about this chapter and I'd really appreciate it, if you'd read the little A/N at the end of this chapter too *puppy dog eyes***

And comments for this are of course most appreciated *hopeful smile*

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Of course thank you so much to** McCoy's Secret Lover, ****TerrorThatLurksInYerBathtub X3, saides, Jesco123 **(yeah, my poor Eliot, but don't worry, Nate and the gang are coming for him *smiles* I wouldn't mind seeing Eliot in that outfit either *grin* And Chapman will get his just desserts *evil grin* And no, you didn't forget something, it's explained in this chapter *smiles*), **SivanShemesh, msdarque, whovian42, angelbun86, fro-chan** (Ja, er wird noch eine Weile ausharren müssen *evil grin* Ich bin halt so gemein *schief grins*), **Sunnyluv, Lady Gaidin, BetahimeTsukiko and Princessoffun** for all your kind words for the last chapter. *hugs you all* Your reviews really keep me going and make me enjoy writing this story even more *smiles happily*

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**Warnings:** slight non-con and kind of a smutty scene in this chapter

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**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 12**

* * *

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"I don't like this plan."

Nate felt like he had said these words one too many times in the last days, but he had never meant them more. Trusting Sterling during a con was one thing, but trusting Sterling's plan to get Eliot back was a whole other matter. At least his ex-colleague had saved them the time to find where Moreau had taken Eliot and that in turn had given them more time to go over the plan and work out as many kinks as possible. Still, the vampire didn't like it, that Sterling was basically their way in, because that normally was his or Sophie's job.

But Nate also knew that Sterling was his best chance to get Eliot back, because Moreau wouldn't be suspicious when Sterling showed up since he had gotten an invitation.

Sophie, who was sitting in the rental car on the passenger seat beside Nathan, rolled her eyes as he had said those words.

"You have said that often enough now, Nate. We get it and rest assured that we don't like it either, but, and I really hate to admit that, Sterling is right. This plan is our best chance to get Eliot back," she stated, trying to sound annoyed that they had to follow Sterling's plan, but in reality she was as worried as Nathan was. And of course, as she had said, she didn't like Sterling's plan any more than Nate did.

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Nathan groaned and clenched his hands around the steering wheel. He hated that he had to sit here and wait, while Sterling and Parker had gone into Moreau's mansion a day ago as guests for the claiming ceremony. Of course he knew that it wasn't a good idea for a vampire prince to go into a house full of alpha werewolves. They would sense him within seconds and that wouldn't end well. Sure, Nate would be able to hold his own quite well against numerous opponents if he gave his demon free reign and the fear for Eliot and his anger at Moreau for taking the Hitter would give him some added motivation and strength. But against so many alpha werewolves and who knew how much of Moreau's hired guns even he wouldn't stand the slightest chance.

So all he could do was wait for Parker's signal that he could go in there and ironically, let himself get captured. That would hopefully distract Moreau from the claiming ceremony for at least a while and give Hardison the time to hack into Moreau's computers and cause more chaos, so that Sterling and Parker could get Eliot out.

Sophie and twenty vampires that the Council had sent as backup and would step in, if it became necessary, but Nate really hoped it wouldn't come to that, because he didn't want innocents, who didn't have anything to do with Nathan's fight against Moreau, get hurt. Normally he wouldn't even consider that backup, but, as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't fight without them if it came down to it...

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At least Sterling and Parker had been allowed into Moreau's mansion, that set on top of the hill, about a ten minutes drive away from where Sophie and Nate just were, without too many problems. In the beginning the guards hadn't wanted to let Parker in, but Sterling had explained to them, that Parker was his new mate and needed to stay as close to him as possible because of Sterling's blood in her veins. It had taken more than a little coaching from Sophie and Sterling to get Parker to act accordingly and like she really was Sterling's new mate. And even though the blonde thief had glared at Sterling the whole time, she had learned the mannerisms she needed surprisingly fast and now knew what she had to do to not stand out.

And Nate guessed that was, because she was so worried about Eliot. And when Parker's family was in danger, then the blonde thief could do extraordinary things, even pretend to be Jim Sterling's mate. At first they had wanted Hardison to got, but they needed him at the computers and Parker also was most likely the only one, who would be able to snoop around Moreau's mansion without being found out.

And Parker had been successful and thanks to the little camera and microphone Hardison had hidden in the necklace Parker was wearing, the equivalent for the collar Eliot wore, even though it was more to protect Parker from advances of other werewolves. But so far none of them had been interested in Parker and her little trips around the mansion had revealed that most of them were buzzing with anticipation, waiting for the claiming ceremony. Not all of the wolves were fans of Moreau, that Parker had found out too. They were just here, because it was tradition and because many of them were curious to see the claiming of Eliot Spencer. Nate hoped that those werewolves would just keep out of the fight when it came down to it, because that would make things a lot easier for Nate and the team. Unfortunately they had not yet seen Eliot, but by the talks Parker, and with her, Sophie, Nate and Hardison had overheard, Eliot was reasonably fine and Damien kept him locked away so that he couldn't escape until they were fully bonded.

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Today it was time for the ceremony and Nathan was nervous. So far everything had gone according to plan and that had eased the tension a little and had helped to keep Nate's vampire in check and stopped him from just charging in there and maybe get killed. It also relieved Nathan that, yes, he had received distress calls from Eliot, but none, except the one yesterday, had been so hard on him than the one he had had in front of the Council.

Nathan sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, staring at the little screen where Parker's video feed was displayed. Sophie was watching it intently too. Right now they only saw backs of broad shouldered man, the alpha werewolves and Sterling walking beside Parker, keeping a hand on her arm. Nate could tell that Parker didn't like it, but for Eliot's sake she managed to stay in her role and sidled close to Sterling's side and whispered something in his ear that the microphone didn't quite catch, but Sterling seemed to understand and moved a little more to the side. Nate and Sophie, and Hardison, who was sitting in Lucille, parked another street down, quickly realized why. Now they could see the stage where the "claiming" would take place. Sterling had been vague about telling them what exactly was going to happen during the claiming ceremony, but Nate had a pretty good idea, especially after he had seen the video message, Moreau had left for him in the warehouse in case they survived the explosion.

Nate leaned back in the car seat and closed his eyes, thinking back to the day before, when he had finally had the time to watch what was on that DVD.

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* * *

_**Flashback**_

_**(2 days ago)**_

_._

_After they had gone over the plan and Sophie and Sterling had taken it upon themselves to teach Parker how to behave as Sterling's mate and Hardison had excused himself to work on the little camera so that it wouldn't be detected, no matter what precautions Moreau might have taken, Nathan had asked Elder William if there was a private room for him with a TV and a DVD player. The leader of the Elder Council had of course quickly nodded and had showed Nate to a room where he was alone and could take his time doing whatever he wanted to do. Nathan was glad that his authority as vampire prince stopped Elder William from asking what exactly Nate wanted to do._

_Nate closed and locked the door behind him, feeling a little guilty that he didn't tell his team what he was doing. But for some reason he felt like it was better to first watch it alone. For a while he hadn't wanted to watch it at all, but then again, they needed to know everything they could about Moreau and maybe the DVD could help._

_With a sigh and, to his dismay, slightly shaking hands he inserted the DVD into the player, took the remote and sat down in the single chair into the room and activated the player. He really wasn't sure what to expect, but he had to admit that he wasn't all that surprised when Damien Moreau's face appeared, his eyes yellow for a tiny second. Then Moreau smirked and his eyes returned to their normal color. The man adjusted his suit jacket and then he started speaking._

"_**If you see this message, Mr. Ford, then congratulations, because that means you have survived my little trap at the warehouse. Not that it will change anything, except maybe even make my victory sweeter, that I have managed to steal the future vampire king's designated mate. But you had your chance, Mr. Ford. You should have claimed him sooner and I'm a little surprised that you have managed to restrain yourself. I know how hard it was for me and if I hadn't been too careless, then Eliot would never have gotten away in the first place. I know that I won't make that mistake again, I probably won't let him out of bed for quite a while."**_

_Here Moreau chuckled and the innuendo was more than clear in the werewolf's voice. And Nathan clenched his hands into fists, letting his vampire out, so that he could get rid of the murderous rage, before he did something really stupid. Here, in the privacy of the room he could allow himself this weakness and let the worry for Eliot show through without having to be strong for Parker and Hardison, who took all of this the hardest, especially since they were also confronted with the fact that Nate and Sophie were vampires. Right now they were taking it surprisingly well, but Nathan guessed that it was because they were so occupied with their Hitter's rescue to worry too much about Nate and Sophie being vampires._

_Nate sighed, because he knew that once they had Eliot back, he would need to sit down with the two youngest members of the team and explain to them why he hadn't told them sooner and what this new development would mean for the team. And he just hoped that Hardison and especially Parker, who didn't have many good experiences with vampires, could still accept him and would stay._

_Nathan straightened, clenched his fists and concentrated on the screen again, where Moreau was still smiling arrogantly at him and now he was speaking again._

"_**Yeah, I really will have a hard time letting him out of bed once we're mated. Once he lets loose, Eliot is a wildcat in bed, you know, full of passion and energy... and his body feels incredible when he's beneath me, working all those delicious muscles..."**_

_Moreau stopped again, the smile turning into a sneer that told Nate that Damien was really enjoying this a lot more than he should and it also was a little worrying to see how much the werewolf apparently knew about him, especially when he said the next sentence._

"_**Oh, that's right, you don't know, because of your precious honor. You just didn't have it in you to claim him and now you never will get to know how good he is and what kind of noises he makes when he's aroused, or how flushed his face is just before he reaches completion."**_

_Nate knew that Moreau was taunting him, his words meant to hurt and anger and Nathan just didn't want to hold back his anger, his vampire raging inside him. Nate let out a guttural roar, probably heard throughout the whole mansion, but he just didn't care. Moreau was talking about Nate's mate and Nathan hated it, hated that Moreau had gotten to touch what was his. And Nate knew that Moreau needed to die for that alone. But Nate was also mad at himself for not giving in to his desires for fear of rejection and fear for the balance of the team. If he had just talked to Eliot then maybe they wouldn't be in this mess and he could enjoy Eliot's passion during their love making, their mating, because Nate knew it would never be just sex with Eliot, since he loved the Hitter too much to give it that somewhat meaningless label, at least for a vampire. And he couldn't wait to tell the younger man exactly that._

_._

_Taking a few deep breaths, Nate at least calmed himself so far that he could focus on Moreau again. For a moment he was tempted to just shut the video off, but he wasn't a coward and he would see this through. _

"_**But I'm a generous man, Mr. Ford and I will at least give you something to remember Eliot by and to help you imagine what it would be like to have my Eli in your bed. It's one of my favorite videos of my quite extensive Eliot-collection and it has kept me good company over the past years. I know it's nothing compared to the real thing, but I hope you still enjoy. That's all you're ever going to get..."**_

_Moreau's laughter told Nate that it really wasn't meant to be a gift, but it was meant to further taunt Nate with what Moreau thought he could never have, but Nate would make sure that Moreau was wrong. But then the meaning of Damien's words finally sunk in and Nathan stared at the screen, horrified at what he had just learned._

_Moreau had taken videos of Eliot? And it sure as hell weren't videos you showed at family parties, that was for sure. And when the image suddenly changed from Moreau's still laughing face to a spacious bedroom with a huge king-sized bed in clear few, Nate knew he should shut the video off, but he just couldn't._

_Especially not when suddenly a young man entered the screen. A young man, Nate immediately recognized as Eliot. A younger version of Eliot, clad in jeans and button-down-shirt, hair short and without the beard he wore nowadays. Nate watched a little mesmerized, amazed how much younger Eliot looked in the video and the vampire wondered when it had been taken. _

_._

_Eliot seemed to be blissfully unaware of the camera and that somehow relieved Nate more than a little. So he could destroy the videos and Eliot never needed to know that god knew how many people had seen him in such private moments. Okay, given Moreau's possessive nature, Nate hoped that it hadn't been too many people, if Moreau had even showed it to anybody. But still, as long as those videos existed, they could get into wrong hands, so they needed to be destroyed._

_._

_Nate once again concentrated on the video, where Eliot was now tilting his head to the side, grinning that sexy grin at another person that had just entered the screen and Nate felt his body react a little to it. But he scowled when Moreau appeared and said in an almost commanding voice: "Undress..."_

_The crime lord sat on the bed, undoing his tie and shrugging out of his suit jacket, never taking his eyes off the Hitter._

_Nate once again clenched his fists while he watched the scene on the screen unfold._

_Eliot obviously was used to the commanding tone, because he only kept smiling, a smile that made Nate's erection swell a little more. And then he slowly started to unbutton his shirt... well... he wasn't just unbuttoning it, no, he was making quite a show, almost like a striptease. And against his will, Nate leaned closer to the screen, watching intently, another wave of lust washing over him, his jeans getting tighter with every move Eliot made._

_And when Eliot finally undid his jeans and let them slide to his ankles along with his boxer shorts and stood in the middle of the room in all his naked glory, Nate couldn't help the gasp escaping him. He had never seen the Hitter completely naked before and the view almost took his breath away. The need to claim the younger man exploded within him and his erection twitched, while he watched Eliot turn for Moreau, who was now lounging on the bed, licking his lips in anticipation. _

_._

_Nate growled and clenched his fists,trying to get a grip on himself, because he hated that this aroused him so much, but Eliot was just so damn hot, even if it was only a video and even if he had done that little striptease for Damien Moreau, it was just a little too easy to pretend that Eliot was doing all of this for Nate._

_Nate watched with kind of a morbid fascination when Moreau beckoned Eliot to come to him and the Hitter did, walking to the bed, falling onto all fours and then crawling to Moreau, who didn't hesitate to bury his hand possessively in Eliot's hair, pulling the Hitter in for a kiss, before he reached out with his arm and slapped Eliot's ass in a teasing way._

_Nate howled again and his vampire did so too... and Nathan was ashamed to admit that he really wished to be in Moreau's place... that he would be the one to turn Eliot's fine ass a nice shade of red, before fucking him senseless... he was even more ashamed when he realized that he had come in his pants while watching the action on the screen..._

_._

_**End of Flashback**_

* * *

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"It's time, Nate."

Sophie's voice shook Nate out of the memory and that was good thing, because Nathan felt his vampire rage inside him, when he remembered how smug Moreau had looked on that video message, how satisfied that he had not only gotten Eliot back, but also had won against the vampire prince. Nate hadn't told the team what was on that DVD, because first of all, Eliot would never want them to know and second, the vampire felt a little ashamed that he had gotten hard seeing Eliot and Moreau having sex, imagining to be in Damien's place. In addition to that Nate wanted them to focus on the job and that was to get Eliot back. Nathan blinked and focused his eyes on the little screen, growling deeply in his throat and for a moment his vampire came out, his eyes glowing red, especially when he saw Moreau carrying an unconscious Eliot into the room. He howled a little and it took Sophie's hand on his arm and Hardison's voice in his ear to calm him down enough for now, so that he could go in there and let himself get captured and not tear Moreau apart limb for limb and then put him back together and do it all over again. Moreau had dared to touch his mate, he had dared to hurt his Eliot and Nate finally couldn't take it anymore.

Sophie only let go of his arm and told him softly: "Go, and I don't mind if you kill a few of Moreau's men to calm yourself, but please remember the plan and don't do anything reckless. Remember that every mistake could cost us Eliot."

The words calmed Nate instantly, but his eyes kept glowing red and Sophie couldn't blame him. She too wanted to rip Moreau apart and she wasn't even in love with the Hitter, who was now getting chained to the bed that stood prominently in the middle of the stage.

Nathan looked at Sophie and an almost feral smile played around his lips.

"Let's go steal me back my mate," he stated and before Sophie could say more, Nate was out of the car and gone from sight. Sophie sighed and she just hoped that they'd get Eliot back, because everything else was not an option. Her eyes turned back to the screen and her lips twisted into a feral smile of her own, because she knew Moreau was totally unaware of the hell that was about to break loose on him...

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to be continued...

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Please, please don't hate me for this chapter *smiles sheepishly*

Was it at least okay or was it as bad as I think it was? *bites nails anxiously*

And I promise the actual claiming will happen in the next chapter *nods*

**As I said, comments would be most appreciated and I'd also like your input on how explicit I can really write the smut scenes that are going to come without violating any rules of this site, because I'd hate for the story to be removed because of that *sigh* So yeah, I'd really appreciate your input... I mean, how explicit do you want me to write the scenes anyway... if I can manage to write anything explicit anyway or if I'm going to suck at it *sighs again***

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on this chapter and on the question *smiles*


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hey everybody, I'm so, so sorry that it took me so long to get a new chapter out *sad smile*

But everything I started just didn't work out. And I'm not even sure if this chapter did work out, but it at least doesn't feel totally wrong. So I really hope that you will like the chapter at least a little and comments would be most appreciated.

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**A/N II (important):** I'm also really sorry that the chapter is so short, but there are different reasons for that.

First of all, it felt like a good place to end it, second, I still haven't decided which storyline I'm going to pursue (the Mpreg one, the Nate one, the Sterling one, the Moreau one or a mix of all the different plot bunnies) and t**he third and most important is, that I'll get an account on archiveofourown** (as soon as I can figure out how that actually works *sheepish smile* and if you think that it might be a good idea to get one *smiles*) so that I don't have to worry about writing too explicit...the story will of course be continued here, but without the explicit scenes... so yeah, I'm really sorry again that the chapter is so short *smiles* But now enough of my rambling and have fun reading *hugs you all*

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Of course thank you to **McCoy's Secret Lover, ****MujokenKofukuron, Jesco123, saides, BetahimeTsukiko, msdarque, dramatic.89. TerrorInYerBathtub, whimseyrhodes, EwanFan241, fro-chan, Kittendragon, slery** (welcome to the story *smiles*)** and VCajas** for all your kind words for the last chapter *hugs you* Your reviews always make my day *smiles brightly*

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**Warnings:** slight non-con (but more or less only mentioned)

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**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 13**

* * *

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"Let the claiming ceremony begin."

Eliot only half listened to what Moreau was saying, but even then he could hear the lust and the werewolf's voice. He pulled on the chains, just to see if he had a chance to escape and maybe die trying that, because that would have been preferable to what was probably about to happen. Sure, he still didn't have any real idea what exactly this "claiming ceremony" entailed, but he certainly knew it wasn't going to be good for him and his pride and dignity.

Moreau only smiled down at him, his full attention back on the Hitter now. Eliot glared back, his fight slowly returning to him. Eliot might have no hope of being rescued, but he had promised himself that he would go down fighting and that was exactly what he was going to do. The little breakdown had somehow also helped him to regain his fighting spirit.

He strained against the bonds holding him to the bed, trying to ignore the fact that Moreau was probably turned on by the display, because Eliot was well aware how he might look to the alpha werewolf right now. But the Hitter just wanted Moreau to know that he would never willingly submit to him.

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Damien smirked and trailed a hand over Eliot's cheek almost gently and Eliot wanted to turn his head away from the gentle touch, wanted to snap at him, maybe even bite the hand of the werewolf. But because of Moreau's blood running through his veins, the new dose he had gotten only about half an hour ago finally starting to work, made it impossible for Eliot to defy Damien and it took all his willpower to not actually lean into the werewolf's touch.

Moreau's hand wandered lower, trailed down his neck, over his shoulder and chest and before the Hitter could react in any way, Damien had grabbed a handful of the shirt and he literally ripped it to shreds with one hard yank, making Eliot yelp in surprise.

But when Moreau's thumb brushed over a sensitive nipple, he hissed angrily, once again trying to turn away, but the blood and the chains wouldn't let him move too much. Moreau chuckled and his next move was to straddle Eliot's thighs, further immobilizing the Hitter and drawing wolf-whistles from some of the other alphas in the room, especially the mated ones, who knew what was going to happen now.

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Damien licked his lips and grinned down at Eliot.

"Don't fight it, Eli. It will make things only more humiliating for you. Our bond has already been started and we just need to consume it after we're through with the official part and then we'll be fully bonded and nobody will ever take you away from me again," he whispered, so that only Eliot could hear. The Hitter only glared at him, but he wasn't ready to say anything, wasn't inclined to give Moreau any indication that he might like to be mated to him, even though his body reacted to Damien's touches, totally against his will.

Moreau only grinned and then he threw his head back, his eyes flashing yellow and then he let his wolf out for a second, howling. The howl was answered by all alphas in the room and Eliot concluded that this was when the official part began. His muscles tightened and he contemplated trying to throw Moreau off, but he wasn't sure if that would even work with the position he was in.

Before he could think further about what to do next, Damien bent down and captured his lips in a hungry and almost feral kiss, biting Eliot's lip. Eliot struggled against the kiss and then he hissed in pain when Moreau's fingernails, well maybe it were the werewolf claws, not that Eliot particularly cared, scratched over his now bare chest, leaving red marks all over his ribcage.

Eliot tried not to react to Moreau's touches and did his best to endure the marking, because it couldn't be for anything else than Moreau leaving marks for all to see, silently and save his strength for one last attempt to get away when Damien and he were alone again to consummate their new bond.

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Moreau finally broke the kiss when they both needed the air, Eliot probably even more so than the werewolf. Damien wore a satisfied grin on his face and then his eyes flashed yellow again. He bared his teeth, his hands busy undoing Eliot's pants, no matter how much the Hitter struggled to stop him from doing so. Moreau was busy looking at all the other alphas in the room, but that still didn't stop him from touching Eliot in inappropriate places, at least as far as the Hitter was concerned.

The alpha werewolf's eyes traveled over all assembled and he questioned, his voice low and dangerous: "Does anyone dare to challenge me to a fight for my mate?"

Eliot gaped and stared at Moreau. He had not just seriously asked that, had he? But obviously he had and Eliot just hoped that it was more or less a rhetorical question, because the last thing he wanted was a fight of two alpha werewolves with him as the prize. But on the other hand it might give him the chance to escape, so for a fleeting second he hoped that there would be a challenge. Then again, Eliot doubted it. Sure, the werewolves here were all alphas too, but most of them were already mated and even the unmated ones wouldn't dare to challenge Damine Moreau to a fight. Moreau was, maybe together with two or three other alphas, the one who had the highest authority and the most power within the werewolf community.

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So Eliot was more than a little shocked when suddenly a loud voice rang through the almost silent assembly hall.

"I challenge you!"

Eliot at first thought he was hearing things and he refused to hope, but then he slowly turned his head towards where the voice had come from and his eyes widened.

"Nate..." Eliot whispered, disbelief coloring his voice.

Hope and fear flooded through him... hope that he might get out of this... but then the fear won out. Nate would be killed in here, because no matter how powerful the vampire was, he wouldn't stand a chance in a room full of werewolves...

Eliot closed his eyes in desperation, not able to watch how the werewolves would tear Nate apart. If he had kept them open, he would have seen the blonde that came closer to him, using the confusion that had broken out among the wolves because of the sudden intrusion.

Eliot had only one thought on his mind and that was, that the man he had come to love, would die just because of him. And that hurt more than anything he had ever endured...

So all he managed to get out was a broken whisper: "Nate..."

.

* * *

.

Getting into Moreau's mansion was a little easier than Nate had thought, not that he was going to complain about it. His eyes flickered red when he scented a werewolf coming his way. And he was ready to attack the wolf when he rounded the corner. Seconds later Nate was on his way again, leaving an unconscious werewolf lying in the middle of the hallway. Nathan had itched to kill him, but what he was about to do, was a serious breech of the peace treaty between the werewolves and the vampires and if he didn't have the permission of the Elder Council, he wouldn't be as confident as he felt right now.

Suddenly another scent caught his attention and his eyes flickered red again... Eliot's scent. But it wasn't the clean Eliot scent that Nate was used to, the scent he loved so much. It felt... tainted...

And Nate balled his hands into fists, growling low in his throat. He knew that he couldn't waste any more time. He came to halt in front of a door and he knew without a doubt that Eliot was behind that door. He could smell him and he could also feel him...

.

"Parker, are you ready?" he whispered, hoping for a quick answer and he wasn't disappointed, because Parker's answer was quick.

"We're all set," the thief told him and Nate nodded in satisfaction.

"Sophie?" He needed to know that there would be back-up coming when he needed it or this was going to be a suicide mission. Okay, it was probably a suicide mission anyway, but Eliot was well worth it.

"We're ready too, Nate. Now go and get back our Eliot," Sophie answered and Nathan could almost picture the encouraging smile on Sophie's face.

"Okay then, let's go and steal us a claiming ceremony."

It wasn't the most expensive thing they had ever stolen, but probably the most important and Nate took another deep breath, before he pushed open the door...

.

Nobody noticed the vampire. He had masked his scent as best as he could and in addition to that all the werewolves were focused on Moreau and Eliot It took all of Nate's willpower not to let out a furious roar at the picture that greeted him. Moreau was straddling Eliot on what appeared to be a bed set up on a stage and he was kissing the Hitter.

Nate balled his fists even tighter, so tight that it hurt and he did his best to only focus on Moreau, because if he did focus on Eliot, who looked so defeated and vulnerable, he wouldn't be able to hold his vampire back and he probably wouldn't want to.

And as much as it pained him and as angry as it made him, he couldn't kill the alpha werewolf in cold blood. That would only lead to another werewolf and vampire war and Nate didn't really want that. Sure, Moreau had tried to kill them and that would have started a war too, but contrary to Nate, Damien Moreau didn't care about that, because he didn't really care about humans in general and the humans would most likely the ones to suffer most in such a war.

.

But not being able to kill Damien, didn't mean that Nate couldn't severely injure the werewolf and rip off a certain part of Moreau's anatomy, so that he would never ever be able to claim anybody again.

Nate took a deep breath and stepped further into the room, hoping that Eliot would finally see him, because Nathan hated the haunted look in those beautiful blue eyes and he hoped that his presence would help Eliot regain his fighting spirit. And Nate also longed to see those blue eyes looking at him with that sparkle in them.

And when Moreau called out, if anyone wanted to fight him, Nathan let his vampire out to play and called, his voice deep and dangerous: "I'm challenging you!"

He hadn't finished the sentence, when all eyes were on him, but that wasn't the worst part, no the worst part was the sudden wave of pain washing through him and it took all of Nate's strength to stay upright. And Nate knew that it could only come from one person.

Eliot!

The pain the other felt was so raw and that hurt Nate more than he could ever imagine.

And then he didn't hesitate any more. He let out an inhuman cry and charged at the werewolf...

.

to be continued...

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So here it is, I hope the chapter was okay and at least a little worth the wait *sigh* And I'm sorry that there was still no actual claiming happening in this chapter. And I really need to make a cover for this story, even though I suck at that *sheepish smile*

As I said before, comments would be most appreciated and if you haven't done so already, then **please read the A/N II**.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Hey everybody, finally here comes a new chapter. And I can only once again apologize that it's so short and that it has taken me so long *sigh*

I hope you will still stick with me and will enjoy reading it *smiles*

.

And there are a few things I learned while writing this chapter:

**First,** I suck at writing fights *sad sigh* I really tried, but it didn't work out to my satisfaction so this is why I wrote the chapter in the way I did and I hope you can live with it.

**And second,** I suck at drawing vampires... at least how I want my vampires to look.

Well, I spent three days trying to figure out exactly how my vampires should look and so I tried drawing Nate in vampire form, but it didn't work. So I really, really hope you will be able to picture him with the description I tried to give in the chapter and I really hope you won't find my idea of vampires funny or stupid...

Oh and in case you're wondering, I'm still waiting to get my AO3 account approved... *sigh*

.

But now I think I have talked enough and will finally let you read the new chapter *smiles* And comments would of course be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

.

And of course thank you to **Jesco123, McCoy's Secret Lover, VirginiaC, Wolfa Moon, saides, msdarque, Kittendragon** (sorry, no explicit fight this time, but there will be one, I promise *smiles*),** Sunnyluv **(generally I'm open for new pairings, but I don't watch Franklin and Bash and if I write an NCIS story it will probably have Eric as the main character... so I'm really sorry to disappoint you about those), **Xiaoqing, fro-chan, Guest, LunaticV **(yeah I'll probably make it explicit, that's why I want to get an account on AO3),** CorpralCarrot **(thanks for the compliment on my English skills *smiles*), **yugiyamisex4eva and krazylicious **for all your kind words *hugs you all* They always mean the world to me...

.

**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 14**

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Eliot had his eyes tightly closed and tried to block out the sounds of Moreau's and Nate's fight. Sure, he felt like a coward for not being able to watch the fight, but he just couldn't bear to see it, couldn't watch Nate being torn apart by more than a dozen alpha werewolves, because that would tear Eliot apart too. In the last days he had come to terms with the fact that he had fallen hard for Nate and that, if he ever submitted by free will, it would only be for Nathan and nobody else.

If Nate died, a big part of Eliot would die with him too and Eliot just couldn't watch it. But, judging by the sounds he just wasn't able to block out, Nate held his own pretty well and the other wolves had so far kept out of the fight. And that gave Eliot at least a little hope that Nate would be able to win this fight.

.

Eliot himself had torn the flesh around his wrists while trying to get free of the cuffs. And he could feel the blood running down his arms, probably ruining the silk shirt he wore, not that he particularly cared about that. And the Hitter welcomed the pain, because he felt he owed it to Nate who was probably hurting too and the pain also helped him to focus and not to give in to his grief and hopelessness. Because if he allowed himself to give in, then he would get lost inside his mind, it had happened before after all.

Well, if he had to be mated to Moreau, then maybe losing himself inside his mind wasn't such a bad idea after all.

A painful scream that could only come from Moreau made Eliot's eyes snap open and he finally dared to look at the fighting vampire and werewolf. Both had almost completely changed, except that Moreau was still in his two-legged form and had not fully turned into the huge four-legged beast Eliot knew him to be.

It was probably because he hadn't been able to shed all his clothes. Werewolves couldn't fully change when they weren't completely naked and they were sort of stuck in a form between wolf and human, except they had sharp teeth and claws and most of them grew taller and broader and were still much stronger than normal humans. His arms were covered in dark, soft fur, that had the color of Moreau's hair, which had grown considerably longer and Damien's eyes were a strong yellow now. And Moreau's claws and his canine teeth were out.

.

But so were Nate's fangs and claws.

And Eliot couldn't help but stare at Nate in awe. He'd of course never seen the other man in his full vampire form.

Nate looked, for the most part, human, but then again, he didn't look human at all. His eyes were glowing ruby red, and because Nate's face was twisted into a feral snarl, the fangs were clearly visible, as were his claws that seemed to sort of grow from his fingernails and the bones of his fingers. Nate's face still looked human, but somehow much younger than he had looked before, but he still looked like the Nate Eliot had fallen for without really realizing it and Nate had probably grown about eight inches in height and his shoulders had broadened considerably.

But what caught Eliot's eye the most were the leathery wings that had burst out of his back and through Nate's clothes. They resembled the wings of a bat, but they were huge and looked much more elegant and much stronger than the ones of their animal equivalents.

And for a moment Eliot couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to be wrapped up in those wings, pressed close against Nate's body, safe, protected and loved...

.

Eliot somehow had totally forgotten that strong clan-leader vampires had wings and that they could actually fly with them. And that was exactly what Nate was doing right now. He had one of Moreau's arms cruelly twisted behind the werewolf's back and was flying upwards, dragging Damien with him. The werwolf in turn tried to sink his claws into Nate's thigh, but so far the vampire had avoided it and Eliot felt an odd sense of pride that Nate managed to hold his own so well against one of the strongest alpha werewolves in the country. But then again, he shouldn't have expected anything else, especially since he knew now who exactly Nate was. And again, some small part of him reminded Eliot that, if he submitted to Nate then he would have a powerful mate that could really protect him, not that he admit out loud to anyone who asked that he craved someone, who would take care of him and protect him from time to time.

But suddenly Damien's personal guards seemed to have realized that their alpha was losing the fight and they started to sprint forward, already pulling off their clothes so that they could fully turn and help Moreau. Nate fortunately had the advantage that he could fly, but Eliot knew that he'd tire eventually and the werewolves were damn fast when they were fully turned and strength came in numbers in this case and one of them would get a lucky shot and sink its sharp fangs into Nate and that would be the beginning of the end...

.

And that thought somehow awoke Eliot's fighting will again. He started to tug and yank harshly on the cuffs, reigniting the pain in his bleeding wrists, but he ignored it. He wanted to help Nate so bad and felt so ashamed that he couldn't get loose. He was Eliot Spencer after all and not some weak submissive for god's sake. But no matter how hard he tried, his efforts were still futile and his wrists were already numb with pain.

His eyes were still fixed on Nate, who was now flying above the werewolves' heads, his wings flapping powerfully. The vampire had dropped Moreau by now, because that made flying and dodging the attacks of the wolves much easier and he had inflicted enough pain on him for now to be satisfied.

Moreau had now changed completely and was howling and snarling at Nate, who snarled back just as much. And Eliot noticed that the alpha werewolf barely used his left front paw, it was the side where Nate had damaged the arm. And Eliot couldn't help a satisfied smirk that Nate had managed to hurt Moreau so much, but his body suddenly burned with pain at the thought. It was probably because Damien's blood was still cursing through his veins and his body had partly acknowledged Damien as his dominant mate.

.

Eliot's attention was still on Nate and Moreau and so was the attention of all of the other wolves. So the Hitter nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a gentle touch on his wrists. His head snapped around and his eyes widened.

"Parker!" he exclaimed, thankful that with all the howling and snarling going on, nobody heard him. But Parker shushed him nonetheless.

"Don't attract their attention," she ordered and Eliot kept as still as he could while Parker effectively and quickly picked the locks on the cuffs, which was a little harder than usual, because of Eliot's blood. And the Hitter winced whenever Parker touched his skin, or better his flesh since he'd managed to tear off almost all of his skin in his attempts to get free.

"What are you doing here?" Eliot questioned while Parker still worked and to distract himself from the fight that was still going on, well it wasn't much of a fight, more like Nate avoiding the jumping wolves and trying to get another shot at Damien.

"Rescuing you of course," Parker said with a shrug, not once stopping working on the locks.

Once the cuffs were open and Eliot had gently pulled his wrists free, he was scooped up into strong arms that were decidedly not Parker's and once again his head snapped up to see who held him.

"Sterling!" Once again he couldn't keep his surprise hidden.

Jim Sterling was the last person he had expected to come to his rescue and for a second he panicked when he saw Sterling's eyes flash yellow, which made Eliot realize that Nate's former colleague was a werewolf too.

.

And he struggled to get free once he had found that out, but Sterling merely tightened his grip.

"Don't make this difficult, Spencer," he growled and his demeanor made Eliot obey against his will, probably because Sterling was an alpha too and if Eliot was honest, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to run as fast as they had to run if they wanted to get out of here with the drugs and Moreau's blood weakening him so much.

And since Parker was here with Sterling, then Eliot decided to trust the other man for now and let himself be held close to that broad chest. His wrists hurt and Eliot flinched when he took a look at them and how bad they actually looked. Parker seemed to have realized that too, because wordlessly and while following Sterling, who backed away from the bed, she wrapped her jacket around Eliot's wrists to stop the bleeding.

Then she whispered: "We got him, time for the distraction."

Eliot stared at Parker and then he noticed the earbud in her ear and Sterling probably had one too.

And before the Hitter could ask what exactly the distraction was, the door to the hall burst open and about twenty fully turned vampires descended upon the werewolves, so that chaos broke loose, serving as a good distraction.

Eliot watched the ensuing fight in morbid fascination, before his eyes searched first Moreau and then Nate, but he couldn't see any of the two and even though he fought it, Eliot felt his eyelids go heavy and his whole body started prickling for some reason and without being able to do anything about it, his grip on consciousness got less and less.

His last coherent thought was for Nate and he sent a silent prayer that the other man would make it out of here alive. And before everything went black, he thought he heard a familiar, deep, panicked voice calling out his name.

"Eliot!"

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to be continued...

So, did you like the chapter? I really hope you did *smiles*


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Hey everybody, here comes a new chapter and I really hope you still like the story and I'm not starting to bore all of you, since only so few reviewed last chapter. And I really hope you will like this chapter, since it's actually probably the last one before the actual claiming happens *grin* And I'm also happy that you seem to like "my" vampire *smiles*

Have fun reading the new chapter now...

.

Comments for this chapter would be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

.

Thank you of course, as always, to **Wolfa Moon, msdarque, McCoy's Secret Lover, Xiaoqing, Bluesister02, Jesco123, Guest, TerrorInYerBathtub and alphawolf0226 **for all your kind comments *hugs you all*

.

**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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**Chapter 15**

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Pain was the only thing that Eliot really felt when a part of his consciousness finally came back to him. His wrists throbbed in time with his heartbeat, his whole body felt like he was on fire and moving was impossible, because his arms and legs felt like lead. But Eliot wouldn't be Eliot if he didn't at least try to focus on his surroundings and try to remember what had happened before he had lost consciousness. But he just couldn't concentrate with the pain he was in. A soft touch from a source he couldn't quite identify helped Eliot to at least focus for a moment and he realized that he was lying in a bed... a soft, comfortable bed, but for some reason Eliot's subconsciousness told him that that was not necessarily a good thing.

At least he seemed to be fully dressed in surprisingly comfortable clothes, so he counted that as a plus. But suddenly he became fully aware of a body pressed to his left side and a heavy arm draped over his waist. He instinctively tried to scoot away from the body, because the last time he had been held like that it had been against his will. Then, however, the hitter realized that there was another body to his left, pressing close.

.

And despite the pain Eliot was in, he forced his eyes open a second, because he needed to know where he was, especially when all the memories suddenly came back to him.

"Moreau!" he screamed or better he wanted to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse croak.

"Shh, Eliot, you're save here," a soothing voice whispered into his left ear and the arm around his waist tightened, but somehow that didn't feel constricting, instead it gave him a feeling of security.

"Nate," Eliot tried to speak again, but again his voice was not more than a whisper. The hitter felt a lot calmer now that he knew that one of the people with him was Nate, because that could only mean they had made it out of Moreau's mansion in one piece.

He, however, still had no idea who else could be in bed with him, so he forced himself to once again open his eyes and turn his head slowly to look at his right, but what he saw could only be a hallucination because of the pain, because Eliot recognized the other man who was with them... and it was none other than Jim Sterling. And the pain became too much again, especially now that he was close to freaking out and his body still felt like he was burning up with a high fever. Breath ghosted over his ear and a soft voice assured him: "It's okay, Eliot, everything is as it has to be. Go back to sleep and we'll explain everything once you're better."

And even though Eliot really didn't want to, he couldn't disobey Nate. So he closed his eyes and went back to sleep, for some reason, even with Sterling so close to him, he felt loved and secure and that didn't change the few times he phased in and out of sleep without really waking up. And Nate was always there, assuring him that everything was okay and that he should go back to sleep so that he could heal.

.

When he finally awoke again, this time for real, he felt a lot better and not like he was burning alive. His wrists still throbbed in pain, but it was duller than it had been before. And opening his eyes was an easy task this time and the memories came back much easier too. Eliot clearly remembered that he hadn't been alone in the huge bed when he had woken before and that hadn't changed. The hitter carefully turned his head to his left to see Nate watch him with a soft, relieved smile on his face. And Eliot couldn't help but smile back, before a short look to his right confirmed that Sterling was also still there, looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

Suddenly Eliot became aware of the fact that the two men were almost completely wrapped around him and only his long experience as a hitter kept Eliot from completely freaking out. Well, that and the fact that the presence of the two men, especially Nate's, made him feel calm and save. But still, Eliot needed to know why on Earth Nate and Sterling were both in bed with him, doubling as a blanked with the way they clung to him. And he also needed to know what had happened with Moreau after he had blacked out.

.

So he sat up a little, well as far as Nate and Sterling allowed him and looked at his heavily bandaged wrists, before glancing at the werewolf and the vampire again.

"What happened? And why are you two in a bed, cuddling with me?" he asked, simply not having the energy to do much more than sit here, look around and ask questions. The room they were in was unfamiliar to Eliot too, but that didn't worry him too much, since Nate was here and so probably the rest of the team wasn't too far. Instead of answering, Sterling raised an eyebrow, looking mildly impressed with Eliot's reaction.

"You're awfully calm given the situation you woke up to," he observed and separated a little from Eliot after a dark look from Nate, but he made a point in maintaining contact with Eliot by letting his hand rest on the hitter's arm.

Eliot just shrugged and simply answered: "I'm too fucking tired to freak out."

Nate, whose arm was still around Eliot's waist nodded in understanding.

"It's not that surprising. You've been out of it for three days," he explained and Eliot's eyes widened in shock.

"Three days?" he repeated dumbfounded. The hitter tried to remember why he could have been out of it for so long, because he hadn't been injured too badly and his damaged wrists hardly qualified as an injury that could cause him to sleep for four days. But his mind came up blank. All he could remember Parker freeing him from his bonds and Sterling carrying him and then suddenly his mind had gone black. And of course there were the few snippets from where he had awoken a little and had felt like he was burning up from the inside. His body still felt warm like he had a light fever, but really not like it was something to worry about.

.

Nate only nodded again to his question and Eliot ran a hand through his hair, brushing the strains that were plastered to his forehead from his face, waiting for one of the two men to start explaining soon. Nate was the one who started the explanation, even though he wasn't sure if Eliot would like it, but he also knew that he needed to hear it.

"Your body needed the time to rid itself of the drug Moreau has injected you with and since the mating wasn't completed, thank god, your body fought the beginning bond after we'd separated from Moreau, even though I'm not even sure why the bond had been so strong already in the first place," Nathan started and looked at Eliot for answers. The hitter sighed and murmured: "He injected me with his blood against my will."

As soon as the words were out, Nate's arm tightened around his waist and the grip of Sterling's hand on his arm became stronger too and Eliot suspected there was something else Nate hadn't told him yet, but what the vampire said next made even Eliot shudder.

"That's why the bond was so strong and your body had to fight so much. We weren't even sure if you'd survive the fight."

There was so much raw pain in Nate's voice at the last part that all Eliot wanted to do, was wrap his arms around the other to assure him that he was still alive and to also assure himself that he was finally away from Moreau and his life was his own again.

.

But he didn't do anything like that, especially not with Sterling still in bed with them, something Eliot couldn't quite understand yet. So he decided to just ask about it.

"And why are you two in bed with me when I'm supposed to recover?"

This time it was Sterling, who answered: "Our presence seemed to calm you and help with the pain."

Eliot raised an eyebrow again and looked at Nate for confirmation and the vampire nodded, validating Sterling's story.

"You were able to rest better when we were with you. Even though I really don't know why Jim's presence had that effect." There was a hint of disdain directed at Sterling and a hint of anger directed at Eliot in Nate's voice and the hitter could only shrug helplessly. He really had no idea why Sterling's presence seemed to calm him down.

Sterling growled at Nate and before Eliot knew what was happening and could react in any way, he was pulled out of Nate's arms and against Sterling's chest, which was, as Eliot noticed quite against his will, quite muscular and the werewolf's scent wasn't exactly unpleasant either, not matter how disturbing that thought in itself was. But Eliot also was sick and tired of being manhandled by vampires and werewolves like some toy. And now that he could finally fight back with the drug and Moreau's blood out of his system, he did so.

.

He was still Eliot "fucking" Spencer for god's sake and so he twisted a little in Sterling's arms and kicked Jim where it hurt, no matter if you were human, a vampire or a werewolf. And Sterling really yelped in pain and let go of Eliot, who quickly rolled out of bed, ignoring the wave of dizziness and how weak he actually still felt. He put his hands on his waist and glared at the two men still sitting in bed, before he snarled: "I'm sick and tired of all that alpha werewolf and vampire pissing contest over who gets to mate with me. If, and I emphasize on the if, I decide to mate with anyone then it's also me who decided who exactly I want to mate with."

Well, he had already decided who he wanted to be mated to, but right now he didn't feel inclined to share that particular information with the other two, because it really felt good to finally be able to fight again.

"Sure, you can try to force me, but I'll fight you tooth and nail, just like I fought Moreau until he drugged and poisoned me with his blood," he added as an afterthought. Yes, it felt really good to make his own decisions again and that also gave him the energy to remain upright, no matter how weak he really felt.

.

Nate and Sterling looked horrified when Eliot likened their behavior to what Moreau had done to him and they both knew they'd never do that to Eliot. They had even stopped growling at each other and Nathan assured him: "We'd never force you Eliot."

Sterling nodded to Nate's words, even though he still hated to have to agree with the other man, but right now it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Eliot only snorted, but he found himself believing the two men. His tense posture lessened a little and focused on just remaining upright.

Like that he completely missed the change in Nate and Sterling. Well, it was no wonder, because Eliot had really no idea how appealing he looked to the werewolf and the vampire right now with his hair disheveled from sleep, his eyes sparkling with many emotions, pajama top half unbuttoned, giving a glimpse of toned abs, pajama trousers low on his hips. Again revealing a sliver of bare skin.

And both men really just wanted to bend the hitter over the nearest surface and claim him as their mate, but they held back, because they would never ever force him. And they also had long realized that Eliot was much weaker than he tried to appear.

"Eliot," Nate finally started, his hands raised in a pacifying gesture, getting up from the bed and taking a step closer to the agitated hitter. This really wasn't how he'd imagined how it would go when Eliot finally woke up. But then again he couldn't really blame the younger man for that. He'd probably react the same way.

.

But the need to mate with Eliot, to make the younger man his, was burning inside him, especially after practically staying in bed with Eliot for the last days, no matter what the situation had been, holding him close, soothing him. And the arousing sight the other man made right now wasn't actually helping to hold back that desire. That Sterling obviously felt the same way, because Nate could clearly smell the werewolf's arousal, only made the need to claim Eliot stronger.

His eyes flashed red and he felt his demon clawing at him to be let lose, snatch Eliot and take him somewhere where nobody could find them and where they could finally bond, because there was no doubt in Nate's mind anymore that Eliot wanted to mate with him and only him.

Unfortunately Sterling seemed to think the same thing, especially since Eliot's subconsciousness had only allowed the hitter to relax completely when Sterling was also in bed with them. Elder Williams had promised to try and find out what that could mean, but so far he had come up blank. But he was pretty sure that the elder vampire would soon come back, because he would know by now that Eliot had awoken and he would want to ask the human some questions.

.

"Eliot, you should get back to bed," he explained when the hitter didn't react to his first words. Eliot shook his head.

"I ain't going back to bed, Nate, not with you two taking advantage of me," he snarled, but there was no real heat in his voice and Nate sensed that he was close to collapsing again but didn't want to admit it and that also was why he reacted so harshly.

"Eliot, please," Nate tried again, he wasn't above begging, because Eliot still needed rest and he wanted to take care of the other man for once. The hitter looked at him, tilted his head a little to the side and then he nodded slowly.

"Fine, but only without you two snuggling up to me," he gave in, giving Sterling a glare. The werewolf chuckled a little, but then he rolled out of bed and held the covers up for Eliot to climb in. The hitter glared again, but since he feared that his knees might buckle soon, he slid into bed and pulled the covers tight around him.

.

Obviously he was just in time, because there was suddenly a knock on the door and before Nate, Eliot or Sterling could answer, the door opened and an old man that Eliot had never seen before, entered the room.

"Elder William," Nate greeted without hesitation and bowed lightly. The elder vampire, one of the council, Eliot deduced, bowed too and returned the greeting with a respectful: "Prince Nathan."

Then the vampire turned his attention to Eliot, giving him a small smile.

"I see you've finally awoken, son," he said and there was also relief in the old vampire's voice, so Eliot for now ignored the flare of anger at being called "son" and he also knew it wasn't the best idea to anger an elder vampire, because they were pretty strong no matter how frail they might look.

"It seems like it," Eliot answered, pulling the covers even tighter around himself, because the last thing he needed was another vampire having the desire to mate with him. Elder William ignored his cold tone and then he turned towards Nate, a grave expression on his face.

"As you requested, I tried to find out what was going on with Eliot and I fear I found an answer," he started, before he looked at Eliot again, something like pity in his eyes and the hitter suddenly felt more nervous than before.

"I know you might not like to hear this, young man, but you need to chose your mate within the next 48 hours," he started and Eliot's eyes widened.

"And if I don't?" he questioned, not sure if he wanted an answer. And he was right when Elder William continued.

"If you don't, you'll die..."

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to be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Okay, this chapter turned out totally different than I actually wanted it *sigh* But I still really like how it turned out and I really hope you do too and can forgive me for the OOCness of Eliot... *smiles hopefully*

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Comments for this chapter would be, as always, most appreciated *hopeful smile*

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Thank you for all your kind comments to:** McCoy's Secret Lover, Wolfa Moon, saides, Jesco123, msdarque, alphawolf0226, SivanShemesh, cresdin, Symphony, fro-chan and PrinRhi**

It really means a lot to me *hugs you* Thank you also to everybody who favorited and put the story on alert *smiles at you too*

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**Warnings:** OOCness and a few explicit words for this chapter, but not too much...

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**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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**Chapter 16**

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This just couldn't be happening.

Eliot had been telling himself that for about twenty minutes now. He had been sitting in the huge bed, alone this time, pondering everything that he had been told earlier. He had thrown everyone out after Elder William had finished his little tale. Even Nate and Sterling had both gone, no matter how reluctantly, but they had understood that the Hitter needed some time alone after Elder William's shocking revelation

Eliot buried his head in his hands for a second. Just when he had thought that he finally had his life back something like this had to happen. And even though Elder William had tried to explain everything as gently as possible. Eliot hadn't understood all the details, but they were probably not that important anyway. All he knew that, thanks to Moreau's meddling, Eliot's body was ready to submit to a dominant mate and if he wasn't claimed within those 48 hours, his body would just shut down.

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"Maybe I should just let it happen. I defied death more than once anyway and maybe this would be the easiest solution. That at least would be my choice," he murmured, again burying his head in his hands. For one of the few times in his life he was at a loss what to do.

"Not gonna happen, Sparky," a voice suddenly came from his left and if Eliot hadn't been so tired, he probably would have startled. Parker had suddenly appeared in the room, out of nowhere as always, but this time with Hardison in tow. The two youngest members of Leverage had concerned expressions on their faces and Parker, without thinking too much of it, slid into bed with Eliot, cuddling up to his side, looking at him with wide eyes. Hardison looked at the two strangely, hesitation written all over his face and Eliot rolled his eyes a little, scooted over, pulling Parker with him so that the Hacker could stretch out beside the blonde thief. Alec gave him a small smile and settled down. Normally Eliot wouldn't have allowed them to practically cuddle with him, well, Parker cuddling with him and Hardison in the same bed too, but right now it was strangely comforting.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. Parker twirled a strain of her hair between her fingers and pouted a little.

"Sophie and Nate are in that super secret vampire meeting and we, as mere humans, weren't allowed in there," she complained and Eliot had to chuckle a little at her disappointment. A few weeks before she had never wanted to be in the same room with vampires, but since it had turned out that Nate was one, she had obviously figured out that not all vampires were bloodthirsty creatures.

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"But Sterling can listen too," Hardison added and Eliot sighed again, before closing his eyes for a second. Then he looked at the two people he considered his little brother and little sister and questioned carefully: "So I assume you have listened in on what Elder William has told me, that I need to mate within 48 hours or I'll die."

Parker nodded and Hardison's lips were set in a tight line, showing how worried he was.

"Yeah we do," he offered and then he looked at Parker and the thief returned the look, gave him a small smile and then turned to Eliot again. The Hitter looked a little confused and he wondered if the two younger members of team Leverage had discussed beforehand what was going to come next.

"And we won't just let you die when there's an easy solution for the problem," Parker began, crossing her arms in front of her chest and Hardison nodded in agreement.

"Parker..." Eliot started, not sure where this was going.

"No Eliot, this time you're going to listen to what we have to say," Hardison cut in, before the Hitter could talk any more and, even though he really didn't want to, Eliot nodded, leaned back against the headboard of the bed and just looked at the other two.

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"We totally get how cruel it was, what Moreau has done to you," Hardison started up again and this time it was Parker, who nodded in agreement.

"And it just shows what kind of person you are that you're sitting here to tell the tale. You fought Moreau with everything you had. And there was a reason for that, well other than that you didn't want to be mated to a bastard like Moreau."

Eliot couldn't help but wonder what Hardison and Parker were going to tell them next, but he had promised them that he'd listen quietly and so he just did.

"Eliot, you fought Moreau, because you had a good reason to, because you love someone else with all you are," Parker cut in and the Hitter couldn't help the slight blush on his face at those words. Yes, he loved someone, but that wasn't the point here.

"You have already chosen who you want to be mated to and so you just need to tell him and then you won't have to die and you can finally be happy again," Parker finished, as if it was the easiest thing in the world, but fact was, that it wasn't that easy.

"Parker, I can't just do that, because that's going to change everything. It's going to upset the team and it's going to change who I am... and I don't even know if he wants to mate with me too," Eliot told the other two, not sure why he had said that last part, but there was a big part of him that wasn't sure if Nate really and truly wanted to mate with him, because he loved him or because there had suddenly been competition. Eliot just couldn't believe that someone like Nate, the vampire prince, would really fall for someone like Eliot, someone as broken and as tainted as he knew he was.

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Parker just snorted at his words and Hardison shook his head in exasperation.

"I thought you weren't just some dumb muscle guy." Eliot glared at Hardison at the insult, but the Hacker ignored it for now and just continued: "Eliot, Nate is in love with you... hopelessly and completely. You should have seen him when we feared that Moreau might... well... you know what do to you. It nearly destroyed him to think about it. He couldn't bear the thought of losing you. And when you sent out that distress call... he was in so much pain."

"Distress call? What distress call?" Eliot questioned, confused, even though he couldn't help the hope blossoming in his chest. Parker just waved his hand in dismissal.

"That's not important right now. What's important is, that you go to Nate and tell him that you love him and want to mate with him, before that council forces you to mate with someone you don't love just because you're too important to lose to the vampires. It can all be so easy and Nate and you can be happy together... and as for the changes in the team, things have already changed and we'll be able to work this out," the thief told him, again it sounded so easy that Eliot just wanted to give in, not even questioning where Parker had gotten that piece of information from, neither did he wonder why the thief was suddenly so insightful, because he knew never to underestimate the young woman. He had tensed a little when Parker had mentioned the possibility that he might be mated to someone he didn't lover after he had just escaped a similar situation. And there was also the matter, that he seemed to be important to the vampires, because that gave him a really uneasy feeling. And he realized that he had missed a lot while he had been with Moreau and while he had been unconscious.

.

But he also remembered how Nate had acted around Eliot and how he had looked at him when he had finally woken up. His eyes had been full of worry, relief and... love. Eliot had not allowed himself to believe that there had been love in Nathan's eyes when he looked at him. The Hitter also remembered how lost he himself had felt, when he had thought Nate would die just for him. And suddenly everything made sense and Eliot knew what he had to do to finally be happy again and finally do something for himself and not what everybody else expected from him. He quickly climbed out of bed, ignoring that he was still unsteady on his feet. Parker and Hardison followed quickly and for once Eliot didn't stop Hardison from putting an arm around his waist to steady him.

"Where is Nate?" Eliot asked and Parker just beamed at him.

"I'll show you the way," she said and so the three members of Leverage made their way through the huge mansion towards the council hall. Parker simply pushed the door open after picking the lock within seconds. The meeting was still going on, they had heard that, even when the door was still closed. The voices immediately died down as soon as the three humans entered the council hall.

Eliot ignored the looks he got from the Elder Council and from Sterling and Sophie. The only person that mattered was Nate. The vampire had immediately started in his direction, concern written all over his face.

"You should be in bed," he murmured softly and came to stand directly in front of Eliot. The Hitter didn't answer at first, shrugged off Hardison's arm and took another step closer to Nate, so that their bodies were nearly touching and Eliot felt stronger immediately. He took a deep breath and then tilted his head to the side, baring his neck, looking at Nate with half closed eyes and then he said into the complete silence that had fallen over the council hall, when it became clear what Eliot was about to do: "I want you to be my mate and I will submit to you."

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* * *

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The door closed and locked behind Nathan and Eliot with a click, ensuring that the two would have their privacy. And even though Eliot had been so sure about what was going to happen now, he couldn't help but bite his lip nervously. Because now matter that he really wanted to be mated to Nate, he still was worried. This would completely change his life and deep down Eliot wasn't sure if he was really ready for that, especially since he didn't have much of a choice than to chose a mate. But deep down Eliot had also known that Nate was the only one he would wanted to be mated to. Still, he was just feeling insecure and he wrapped his arms around himself to stop the tremors running through his body.

Two gentle hands on his shoulders made the Hitter look up directly into Nate's face. The vampire's eyes were glowing red, but the soft, loving smile on Nate's face eased Eliot's anxiety a little and he found himself returning the smile. Here, alone with Nate, Eliot knew that he could let his guard down and just let the vampire take care of him for once.

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"Are you really okay with this? Or do you feel you have to do that, because of what Elder William has told you?" Nathan asked, looking at his hopefully soon-to-be-mate questioningly. He really wanted nothing else than to just throw Eliot down on the bed and claim him, stop him from thinking about it too much, stop him from over analyzing something that could be easy and wonderful. And his vampire wholeheartedly agreed with this plan, but Nate couldn't just do that, not to the man who had come to mean the world to him. He wanted to make sure that Eliot was really ready to submit to him. It would make things a lot easier between them.

Eliot sighed and unconsciously leaned into Nate's touch, which made Nathan's vampire keen happily. Because, no matter if there was still a little doubt deep down somewhere, Eliot wanted to be closer to him and that assured Nate that this was going to work out.

"I'm not sure," Eliot finally admitted, not daring to look at Nate right now, because he was not ready to see the disappointment in Nathan's eyes. He felt like a teenager with a crush, insecure and not like Eliot Spencer, the feared Hitter he was and that made Eliot even more nervous. But a part of him, a big part, wanted to be taken care of and he wanted to just let himself fall.

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A strong hand gently lifted his chin again.

"Eliot, look at me and tell me what's going on in that gorgeous head of yours. I really want to understand what you feel," Nate murmured softly and Eliot swallowed, not sure what exactly to do now. But then he finally decided that he trusted Nate enough to tell him everything about his insecurities. So he took a deep breath and just started telling him what was on his mind.

"You know, all of my life everybody expected me to be the strong one, to push my own feelings aside and solve other people's problems. And over the years I learned to do just that to protect myself from being too hurt. I learned to forget what I want and what I felt. That's what makes me such a good Hitter... well that's what made me the best until I met all of you. Then things started to change... mostly for the better, because I was finally able to express some of my feelings again and I knew I found people who love me despite or maybe for what I am..." Eliot trailed off for a second and lowered his head again, not able to look the vampire in the eyes when he said the next part.

"But you all expected me to take care of your problems, to make sure you all got out safely, because you all somehow thought I was invincible."

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Nate sighed sadly and he wondered just how much strain he had put on Eliot and he once again cursed himself for being too much of a coward to tell his whole team what he was and to make Eliot's job a little easier. His thoughts were interrupted when Eliot spoke up again, this time bitterness in his voice.

"But newsflash, I'm not invincible. And no matter how much I wanted to, I wasn't able to show any weakness, because you all depended on me and I always feared you wouldn't take me seriously anyway after most of the time you were just poking at my wounds."

Nate's heart clenched painfully when he heard that and he knew that he had made so many mistakes and the last days when he had feared he might never see Eliot again had driven that home. He was amazed that after all of that, Eliot was still willing to submit to him and still loved him. The vampire was about to say something, but Eliot obviously hadn't finished to tell Nate what was going on in his head, so he just kept quiet, watching the younger man intently..

"And now it's so hard for me to just let go, to show my feelings," he started and swallowed harshly.

"It's so hard for me to admit that sometimes – just sometimes – I'd like to have somebody take care of me, to protect me... to make me feel like I'm worth something, that I'm worth enough that someone wants to be the one to protect me..." Again Eliot stopped and ran a wary hand through his hair. Obviously it was hard for him to admit all of that and again Nate's heart clenched painfully, when he became aware how much he had let Eliot suffer without doing anything about it.

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Eliot finally looked at him again, his voice unusual small when he continued: "I'd love to have someone in my life, who thinks that I'm worth loving just for who I am and not only be treated like a weapon or a living bullet proof vest."

Eliot, for once, didn't care that he sounded needy and whiny. He had been the strong one all his life. And he also just wanted Nate to know how he felt and what he wanted from Nate if he wanted Eliot as a mate. The Hitter looked at Nate with wide, innocent eyes and the vampire felt privileged to see this side of the younger man, a side he never showed anyone.

"Can you do that, Nate? Can you see the man behind the Hitter?" he questioned and Nate knew that the answer to that question would determine if he'd be able to call that amazing human being his mate. The vampire smiled and then bent down to claim the younger man's lips, It was a gentle kiss, with which he tried to tell Eliot a little of what he felt, the part he wasn't able to put into words.

When they separated, Nate knew what he was going to say to Eliot and he just hoped that it was going to be enough.

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"I can do that, Eliot... that and so much more," he began, cupping the other man's face in his hands, so that Eliot had to look at him the whole time he was speaking.

"You were never just Eliot Spencer, the retrieval specialist to me. I now know that I've loved you from the first moment I've laid eyes on you. And I'll show you just how much I love you, if you let me and if you allow me to mate with you. And if you don't want to mate with me, I'll respect that too, no matter how much it's going to hurt me and I don't care what Elder William said, there will be a way I can prevent you from dying even if you don't mate with anyone. I love you Eliot and I would never want to force you into anything... I'm not Damien Moreau, All I want is for you to be happy and you'd make me the happiest being on this planet if you'd find that happiness with me," Nate explained, no matter how much his vampire howled in protest at the mention of letting Eliot go. He looked Eliot straight in the eye to convince him that he was serious and he waited for a moment so that the Hitter could think about what Nate had just said.

When he saw Eliot's eyes soften and the insecure look replaced by hope, Nathan finally continued: "Eliot, will you give me the privilege of claiming you as my mate to cherish and to spoil, so you won't wish for anything ever again in your life?"

He didn't care that his words sounded like a marriage proposal, because for him it was the same as that. He wanted to spent the rest of his life with that young man and he was willing to do everything for it to happen. Eliot chuckled at the words, but it was a happy chuckle and Nate felt the tension finally leave the human's body, so he quickly continued: "And most important of all, will you allow me to love you?"

He waited with baited breath for Eliot's answer. The Hitter stared at him, something akin to awe in his eyes and then slowly a smile, unlike any Nate had ever seen grace the Hitter's face, because it was genuinely happy, made it's way on the younger man's face. And no matter if it was kind of an inappropriate reaction, the smile went straight to the vampire's cock.

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And then Eliot gave him his answer in his very own way, because the Hitter knew that he wasn't too good with words. The man let himself fall back onto the huge bed, stretching out like an elegant wildcat, which made Nate lick his lips and his cock harden even more. He was also amazed by the sudden mood change from the Hitter, but he counted it as a win that he had obviously found the right words.

"I accept," Eliot said, no, it was more of a purr and Nate swallowed harshly, his eyes never leaving the younger man, but somehow he still couldn't move. Eliot, however, suddenly tilted his head, baring his neck to Nate in blatant invitation, gone was the insecure man from seconds before, replaced once again by the Eliot that just was sensuality, no matter what he did and who caught the attention of so many people without even meaning to. And now Nate couldn't hold back anymore. He growled loudly and finally let his vampire out to claim Eliot as his own. In a flesh he was on the bed, straddling Eliot's hips, eyes blazing red again and his fangs out, hovering only millimeters above Eliot's neck.

"Mine!"

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to be continued...

Well, yeah, here it is, a little longer than the ones before, because I'm not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter... I know it's kind of an awkward place to stop, but I'm still trying to write the actual claiming scene without it sounding too awkward and when I post it depends on when I'll finally get my AO3 account *sigh*

But none the less, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will be patient with me...


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N (PLEASE READ!):** Umm... hi *waves shyly* Okay, I'm really awfully sorry that it took me this long to update the story. I never planned for it to take so long, but somehow everything I did try didn't work out and the story wouldn't cooperate with me.

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Also, I know that's probably not the chapter you were waiting for or were expecting, because I know you were all expecting an explicit claiming scene. And I'm sorry to disappoint that it's not really that, but everything I wrote I wasn't comfortable with and it just didn't sound right, so this is what I could come up with and I hope it doesn't violate any rules of this site...

I promise you that I will write the explicit claiming scene as soon as my RL isn't interfering anymore and once I'm in a better frame of mind. And then I'll post it as a full chapter either on AO3 or on livejournal.

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I finally decided to post this chapter without the explicit claiming scene, so that you faithful readers will know that I haven't abandoned this story and that I don't plan to do it, because I love this storyline too much.

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So yeah, I really hope that my ramblings made any sense and that you're not disappointed in me and still will enjoy this chapter and the entire story *smiles sadly but hopefully*

Comments for this chapter would be most appreciated...

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Thank you to **Saides, Wolfa Moon, alphawolf0226, SivanShemesh, amberanime, Jesco123, McCoy's Secret Lover, msdarque, PrinRhi, Quiet Ryter, fro-chan and Daughter of Vayu** for all your kind words *hugs* That really means the world to me *smiles*

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**Warnings:** **SLASH, ****OOCness and semi-explicit adult content for this chapter, but not too much, **at least I hope it still agrees with the site's rules. If not, please let me know so that I can change it...

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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**Chapter 17**

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"Mine!"

Nate's growl sent a shiver down Eliot's spine and he stretched his neck, mindful of the vampire's fangs so close to his neck, but somehow he enjoyed when his skin came in contact with the tips, leaving a tingling feeling behind.

"Yours," he agreed without hesitation. By now he had accepted it and he even welcomed it to be Nate's in every sense of the word. Nate smiled, his tongue snaked out and he licked Eliot's neck where two red dots decorated the delicate skin, just teasing and not yet biting him. Then his breath ghosted over Eliot's ear.

"And after tonight, I doubt you'll ever forget it again," he purred into the younger man's ear, once again making Eliot shiver in anticipation and a certain part of his anatomy twitched uncomfortably in suddenly too tight pajama pants.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he drawled huskily, tongue darting out and licking his lips, slowly and in a blatant invitation and Nate really didn't need to be told twice. He lowered his head, plundering his soon-to-be-mate's lips and mouth, tongue exploring freely without meeting any resistance, quite the contrary, Eliot kissed back with just as much vigor and enthusiasm.

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Eliot's cheeks were flushed and his eyes bright when Nate drew back to look at his mate. The Hitter grinned mischievously and raised his hips a little, pressing his more than obvious arousal against Nate's own undeniable hardness making the vampire sigh in pleasure.

"Mine!" he simply growled again, not bothering with more, in this case unnecessary words, one hand sneaking down to unbutton Eliot's pajama top, to finally bare his mate to his hungry eyes and when the vampire saw all that delicious, smooth skin, except a few scars here and there, stretched out before him, he vowed to map and catalog every available millimeter of that skin before he finally claimed the younger man as his.

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Eliot, by no means passive in this whole scenario, buried his hand in Nate's short locks and pulled him down for another kiss, one which Nate granted more than willingly. And this time they only broke apart when Eliot needed air.

The Hitter panted, his chest rising and falling rapidly, but still he grinned at Nate and gave him a look that was permission enough for Nate to finally proceed with the claiming. Eliot's hand rand down his now bare chest in a teasing way over his well-toned abs down to the waistband of his pajama bottoms. Then he pulled that down almost excruciatingly slow and it took every inch of self-control Nate possessed to sit back on his haunches between Eliot's spread legs and watch the little show and not simply tear the, in his eyes at least, offending garment away to bare all of Eliot to his hungry eyes. He finally helped to pull the trousers off completely and then he feasted his eyes on a finally completely naked Eliot. Nate was already contemplating where Eliot would wear his mark, well the permanent one and not the bite in his neck that would mark the official claiming. He rubbed one hand gently, yet possessively over one hipbone, marveling how handsome and perfect his mate was.

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Oh yes, he would thoroughly enjoy claiming Eliot as his and he would also make sure that Eliot would enjoy this too and that he would also know without a doubt who he belonged to... and he would start with it right now. The vampire bent down and once again claimed Eliot's swollen lips in a passionate kiss.

"Finally you're mine!" he murmured, because that had become his favorite words over the last few minutes.

"Yours," Eliot repeated his earlier words and moved into every touch Nate bestowed on him, giving little moans and growls of pleasure that made Nate's arousal twitch and with an almost feral grin he set out to finally ravish and claim his mate... and oh yes, he would definitely enjoy this...

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* * *

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It could have been moments or it could have been hours or days when Eliot finally woke up. During his mating with Nate he had lost all track of time and space, his whole body focused on what Nate was doing to him, aching into every touch and receiving and giving pleasure he had never known before. And the last thing he remembered, was Nate looking at him with so much love in his eyes, before the vampire's fangs finally sunk into the skin on his neck, and then his whole world had exploded into pain, arousal, lust and so many emotions that he had finally given in and blacked out.

But now he was awake again and he felt bone-tired and sore. Okay, it wasn't an unpleasant soreness, because his mind had of course quickly supplied why he had blacked out and why he felt so sore. And if Eliot hadn't been the Hitter he was, he would have blushed furiously because of the realization why exactly he was aching in certain places. But since he had been through so much in his life and because he relished how he was feeling right now because it meant Nate had finally claimed him as his mate, he just allowed a small smile to grace his lips and then he finally and slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times, taking in his surroundings and not only cataloging the different aches of his body.

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Eliot realized that he was lying half on his side, his head resting on a human pillow. A heavy arm was draped around his waist, making sure that Eliot wouldn't move from his position without permission from Nate. Normally Eliot really should have minded that little display of possessiveness and ownership, but again, somehow he really didn't mind. He knew enough about newly mated couples to understand that Nate would have a hard time to reign in his possessiveness. And given what had happened before they had mated, the vampire sure wouldn't even try.

"You're right, El. For the next few days you'll never be out of my sight unless it's necessary to protect you," a deep, almost feral voice interrupted Eliot's musings and the Hitter's head snapped up to look at Nathan in shock and surprise.

"Hello gorgeous, good to see you're finally awake. I was getting worried that I'd gotten carried away and had drunk too much," Nate murmured and then he pulled the Hitter up for a kiss, which once again left Eliot a little breathless.

_/Damn, that man knows how to kiss/_ Eliot thought happily. Nate only chuckled.

"Thanks for the compliment, Eliot and I'm happy to say that I can fully return it," the vampire stated, chuckling fondly when Eliot stared at him in confusion, but trying not to show that he was confused.

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"I guess nobody ever bothered to tell you that the dominant mate can read his submissive mate's thoughts when they're newly bonded," Nate started, taking pity on Eliot and he also knew that the Hitter deserved to know everything. There hadn't been a lot of time to tell Eliot what exactly he was getting into and to find out how much he really knew about the subject. And Nate really didn't want to start their mateship by having secrets from his mate.

The thought that he and Eliot were finally mated, that the younger man was finally his, still made him giddy with happiness and his fingers gently rubbed over the two marks his fangs had made when he had bitten Eliot to drink his blood. The wounds he had made in his arm so that Eliot could drink his own blood, of course not enough to turn him, because it was not time to do that yet, had already healed.

"No, nobody told me," Eliot grumbled, pulling Nate out of his thoughts. He clearly wasn't happy with that new development, because he was getting restless in Nate's arms. The vampire immediately tightened his arm, using his superior strength to keep Eliot by his side. And knowing that it was a fruitless battle, the Hitter quieted down after a few seconds, waiting for Nate to finish his explanation.

"Nature decided it was necessary that the dominant mates can do it, so that they can properly care for their mates, especially when they're still weak from the bonding," he continued and Eliot had to admit that that actually made sense. He knew that he was pretty tired right now and he wouldn't last long in a fight and he had heard that some claimed mates slept for days and were tired weeks after. He just hoped that that wasn't the case for him. He was Eliot Spencer for god's sake and not some weak-willed creature.

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"No, you haven't slept for days, El. Actually you've only been out for about half an hour, which is quite amazing by the way and shows how strong you really are," Nate answered his unasked question. Eliot groaned.

"This is weird," he complained, because he really hated to practically have someone in his head, no matter if it was Nate, the man, or better the vampire, he'd share the rest of his life with. He liked to have his thoughts as his own. Nate sighed and kissed his forehead again.

"Don't worry, the ability normally fades after a few weeks of being mated and when the bond is really established and it's not necessary anymore. Then it normally only comes out when the submissive mate is in danger," Nate assured and Eliot only grumbled again, but he dropped his head back on Nate's naked chest. No matter that he really didn't mind to be mated to Nate, quite the contrary, he still hated being called submissive. Again, he was Eliot "fuckin'" Spencer and people all over the world feared him and most of them were right to do so, no matter that Eliot had changed sides.

Again Nate sighed and his hand started rubbing soothing circles where it was resting on Eliot's stomach.

"Just because you're the submissive mate doesn't mean you're weak, El. I thought you knew that," he stated, hating to feel the anger from his mate. He wanted Eliot to be completely comfortable with their bond, but now he realized that they had quite a few hurdles they still needed to jump before they could enjoy it. And Elder William sure as hell had a few more to place in their way, now that Eliot wouldn't die anymore...

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"Stop reading my thoughts, Nate," Eliot meanwhile complained, finally slipping free from Nate's grip, wanting to jump out of bed, no matter that he was still naked, but as soon as he was out of direct contact with Nate, he felt his knees buckle and he would have fallen if the vampire hadn't been quick to pull him back into bed and into his arms.

"Stay in bed, Eliot, you're still weak and you need to be near me too feed off my strength," Nate chastised gently, not wanting to anger his mate any more. Nate really couldn't stand it when Eliot was angry at him. He was just worried for him and didn't want him to get hurt.

"I wouldn't get hurt from just falling to the ground, Nate. I've had way worse, and I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at biology right now," Eliot growled, but he still settled back against Nate's chest, because that really felt better.

"What?" he questioned when Nate stared at him with wide eyes, before a proud smile made its way onto the vampire's face.

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And before Eliot could ask more, his mouth was once again claimed in a bruising kiss.

"I always knew you were special, Eliot and I still can't believe you're mine," he murmured and Eliot only stared at him like he was mad.

"Eliot, you've just read my thoughts without even realizing it. It's unheard of a submissive mate ever doing this before and I'm slowly beginning to understand that Elder William was right about you," he explained and Eliot once again just stared at him.

"I didn't read your thoughts, Nate. I just knew what you were thinking," the Hitter stated, because even he was freaking out a little. The vampire just chuckled.

"Eliot, that's practically the same. I'm sure that you will be able to read all my thoughts if you just concentrate now that you've been made aware of the ability. I'm sure you've read them before, but you just didn't really think about it," he explained and Eliot once again wanted to tell him that this was crazy, but then he simply fell silent, because, yes, now that he was aware of it, he really was able to read Nate's thoughts... he could practically hear the vampire's voice in his head.

And all Nate thought about right now, was how much he loved Eliot and how honored he was to finally call him his mate.

"Wow," Eliot murmured, a little shaken by the intense emotions of the other man and this time it was him, who raised his head, put a hand on Nate's face and pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss.

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When they broke apart this time it was reluctantly, but Eliot knew that they had a lot more to talk about and he also knew that Elder William wanted to talk to him. Well, no, he hadn't known that, but Nate's thoughts had been clear.

"Can I stop reading your thoughts. I mean, it's getting a little too much and a little distracting. And I also want you to stop reading my thoughts all the time," he complained a little, wondering how he'd feel about it when the ability to read each others thoughts would fade.

Nate nodded.

"Yeah, there's a technique that works almost like a radio switch that you can use to turn it on and off. I can show it to you, if you..."

He didn't get further with his explanation, because suddenly the door to the bedroom they were in, burst open and with a loud howl a giant wolf leaped into the room. He had dark black fur, so it definitely wasn't Moreau, which made Eliot relax.

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But then he didn't see anything more of the wolf, because suddenly all he saw were Nate's huge wings wrapped around his naked body, shielding him from the eyes of the wolf. Eliot wanted to be annoyed, but against his will he feared the werewolf and wondered what he wanted here.

"Sterling!" Nate meanwhile growled, arms tightening around Eliot's body, wings drawn completely around Eliot.

"What the hell do you want. You lost, so get lost," the vampire growled and Eliot's eyes widened in surprise. So Sterling was the werewolf interrupting them. But what on earth would possess him to just burst into their room like that.

Well, Eliot got his answer, but it wasn't one he particularly liked.

"Your bond isn't completed yet, Nate, he doesn't bear your real mark, so I challenge you..."

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to be continued...

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Yeah, I know that this really wasn't the chapter you were expecting and I really hope you aren't too disappointed with it *sighs* But at least it's an update *smiles sheepishly*

Comments would still be appreciated *hopeful puppy dog eyes*


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Hi *waves* Look, I have a new chapter *grins* and well, it didn't take me as long as it did last time, even though it's still a few weeks between updates *sheepish smile*

But I really hope you will enjoy the new chapter *grins* You will hopefully like it more than you liked the latest update for my Double Spencer Jobs *sheepish look*

And well, just to warn you, I'm thinking about writing a completely AU creature!Leverage fic, not sure yet, but I'd really like to try my hands on it, so yeah, if you might be interested let me know and keep an eye out for the story, even though it might take a while *smiles*

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Comments for this chapter are most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

.

Thank you of course to **Jesco123, SivanShemesh, saides, Quiet Ryter, dh2930** (wow, thank you for your nice words and I feel honored that you read my AU and I hope you will continue to enjoy it *smiles*), **McCoy's Secret Lover, msdarque, BetahimeTsukiko, AB Feta and fro-chan** (ja, ich sag dann bescheid ^^) for all your kind words *hugs you* You are so amazing and you really make my day *smiles* *hugs you all*

.

**Warnings:** **SLASH, OOCness, Vampires and Werewolves**

.

**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

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"Your bond isn't completed yet, Nate, he doesn't bear your real mark, so I challenge you..."

The words hung in the air and Eliot really had no idea how on Earth he was supposed to react to this newest development and he groaned before allowing himself a moment of weakness by burying his head against Nate's bare shoulder.

A few minutes ago the hitter had thought that things were finally looking up and he could get back to normal, or semi-normal, he was a vampire's mate now after all, and that with Nate laying claim on him this insane coming after him would stop. But obviously he had been wrong and it wouldn't stop until he officially bore Nate's mark, even though he had no real idea what the difference was. But somehow Eliot feared that even if that happened, he wouldn't be save from unwanted advances of werewolves and vampires. So yeah, this was getting kind of frustrating.

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And normally Eliot would have faced Sterling on his own, because no, he didn't need other people to fight his battles most of the time, but he was still really weak and could probably barely stand on his own two feet. And he was also pretty sure that Nate wouldn't let him do it anyway.

He was completely wrapped in the vampire's arms and wings and it didn't look like Nate had any intention of letting him go soon. The only movement he made, was to stand up and face Sterling, Eliot still safely hidden behind his wings, carrying the man with an ease that was just a tad annoying, but oddly enough also kinda hot. And despite the situation Eliot's mind went to a few dirty places because of it. But still, the Hitter hated this, he really, really hated to be so weak and he just hoped that that weakness would fade soon.

And again, he was also still very confused why Sterling though that he wasn't mated to Nate yet, sure he had learned by now that there was an official mark that would be put on him, whatever that meant, but he had assumed that that was a mere formality. So it honestly didn't make sense and he silently asked Nate about it, for the first time deliberately using the connection he had with Nate, but the vampire only sent back that he would explain later, because right now they had important issues to deal with. And Eliot had to admit that the vampire had a point here.

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They both really didn't want to deal with Sterling, but the wolf had issued a challenge and so they had to do something about it. And Eliot really, really wanted to face Sterling on his own, so he struggled a little in Nate's arms.

"Okay, this is seriously getting out of hand," he growled and kept struggling.

_/Put me down/_ he sent his mate telepathically, but to be honest he was a little surprised when Nate actually put him onto his own two feet, but he kept one wing wrapped around Eliot from the neck down. The Hitter really hadn't known that vampire's wings were so flexible and for a moment he also wondered why Nate kept the wing so firmly around him. Well, that was until Nate held a bed sheet out to him to wrap around his waist.

Oh right, he was still naked and Nate didn't want to Sterling to see him naked. And well, to be honest, Eliot also didn't want Sterling to see him naked, so he quickly and efficiently wrapped the sheet tight around his body and only then did Nate completely let go of him, but he made sure that he was still somewhat between the werewolf and his mate.

The Hitter was a bit shaky on his feet, but he was standing on his own, arms crossed in front of his chest, growling at the two men.

"This really has to stop. I'm mated to Nate now and I really don't want any other mate," he said sternly and Nate felt a warm feeling spread through his chest at Eliot's words and if Sterling hadn't been here, he would have kissed Eliot within an inch of his life, but he wasn't about to put on a show for the werewolf.

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And Eliot already had his attention on Sterling and snapped: "And you shift back. I wanna see your face, your human face, when we talk."

He hadn't really expected for the werewolf to follow that request, but then werewolf howled and then he shifted back to his human form.

"What the hell?" Sterling spat when he had morphed back into a human and he didn't look too pleased and even a little surprised, before he recovered from his obvious surprise, especially when he saw the almost appreciative look Eliot gave him.

And well, Eliot really couldn't help but look since Sterling was standing stark naked and for a moment Eliot allowed himself to study the body of the other man. And it was, as he had to admit, a nice body to look at, not as nice as Nate's, but still...

A low growl and another bed sheet tossed at Sterling told Eliot that Nathan had read his thoughts and that he wasn't too pleased about it. Sterling seemed to have realized that too, because he chuckled, caught the sheet and lazily wrapped it loosely around his hips, obviously not bothered in the least if Nate and Eliot saw him naked. The smug grin on his face angered Nate and Eliot too, but at least the werewolf and the vampire weren't fighting yet, so Eliot counted that as a a win.

.

"So that's one of your superpowers then," Jim drawled and now looked at Eliot mildly impressed, well okay, he was more than a little impressed, but he wasn't about to admit that to the two others. Eliot only returned the look with a clueless one of his own, while realization dawned on Nate's face.

"He made you shift, didn't he?" the vampire asked, while putting an arm around Eliot's waist, pulling the other closer to him in a sign of ownership, but also because he could see that his mate was a little unsteady on his feet.

"What do you mean "I made him shift"?" Eliot meanwhile questioned, still having no clue what was going on and he hated that he was once again in the dark about his own abilities and he really, really hated that, yes, he couldn't even express how much he didn't like that fact. Nate chuckled, because he could of course read his mate's thoughts and no, he didn't consider the mating incomplete either, no matter what Sterling believed or wanted to be true.

"You demanded that Jim had to shift back and he had to obey you, no matter if he wanted to or not," he explained and Eliot raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"And that I can do that hasn't been explained to me why?" he questioned, annoyance clear in his voice and Nate shrugged again.

"Because nobody had any idea that you could do that," he stated simply and Eliot grudgingly accepted that reason, because yeah, it was hard to explain something that you didn't know existed.

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"Okay, I get that, but how does that make me special and how is that helpful?" the Hitter then wanted to know, the frown still in place. Yes, Eliot was more than annoyed with this whole thing. Sure, it was cool to be able to force Sterling to change back, even if the other didn't want to, but he really didn't get why that made him so special.

"Are you kidding?" This time it was Sterling, who spoke up, before rolling his eyes a little.

"You really don't get it, do you?" the werewolf wanted to know, sounding a little smug, which in turn made Eliot want to punch his lights out.

Nate simply snarled at Jim, eyes a dark, angry red, because he wasn't able to just bear Sterling's attitude towards his mate. Eliot himself also didn't care much for Sterling's tone, hence the mental image where he strangled the wolf, but he was much more interested in what the other actually meant by his words.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" he questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest, glaring at the werewolf. The Hitter knew that he would probably have looked a lot more threatening and frightening, if he hadn't been a bit unsteady on his feet, didn't have that huge hickey, or since he didn't want to completely feel like a girl, bite mark n his neck and to top it all off if he hadn't been wrapped in a baby-blue bed sheet with little pink roses on it. And Eliot wondered who on Earth had been the interior designer for this room.

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But again, that really wasn't important right now, he just wanted answers and if he had to get them wrapped in a ridiculous bed sheet, then he would since he was still Eliot "fucking" Spencer and it was good to remind people about that fact from time to time. Before he could say as much, however, Sterling turned to Nate.

"So I take it, that you've never told him?" Jim questioned and Nate shrugged, looking a little sheepish.

"I didn't really have time and besides I really didn't know that it was him I needed to tell this story to. Yes, I had my suspicions for a while now, but I've only been sure for about half an hour and if you hadn't interrupted us then I would have already told him," he defended, tone angry, completely ignoring Eliot at the moment.

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The Hitter, however, only rolled his eyes, glaring at the vampire and the werewolf with annoyance.

"You know, in the time you two had this pointless discussion you could also have told me what all this cryptic remarks are about," he pointed out, voice a low growl, that made Nate shiver with lust and even Sterling's gaze darkened at hearing that growl. They were both a little relieved that Eliot was too angry to realize what his voice did to them and he already continued talking.

"I'll even start the sentence for you. Apparently I'm able to force werewolves to shift back against their will, because... so now you can finish that sentence and fill in the blanks and if one of you even thinks about saying "because you're special" I'm going to come after that someone with my knives... my very sharp knives... and believe me, I can make you hurt, no matter if you're a werewolf and a vampire."

Yes, he was ranting a little, but Eliot was really done with being treated like a precious doll or a chew toy that the pack was fighting over, well, okay, Nate could treat him like a precious doll occasionally, but not right now... right now Eliot really wanted answers.

.

And apparently Nate was finally going to take pity on him and tell him, it was, after all, his duty as Eliot's mate.

"I really would have told you, if I had got the chance," he explained, giving Eliot a small rueful smile that only made the Hitter raise his eyebrow, indicating for Nate to go on.

"Look, there is this prophecy. It has been told to us vampires for generations and I'm sure even the werewolves have their own version of it. It basically says that one human would finally stop the war and he would be recognized by his special powers," he summed up and Eliot could easily read on his mate's face that he was once again keeping a secret from him, but even through their mental connection didn't allow him to see what.

So Eliot focused on what Nate had told him.

"So you're telling me that I'm that human of the prophecy and that's why I have been fighting off vampires and werewolves my whole life, because they thought I was this special human?" he questioned and Nate nodded.

"Well yeah, they wouldn't have known that you're the one from the prophecy, but your scent is simply unique and we can hardly resist," he admitted and Sterling nodded in agreement to Nathan's words.

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"Great," Eliot muttered under his breath, just what he needed. And what he still didn't understand, was, how it would be helpful that he could force werewolves to change back against their will. And he also wondered if it also worked for vampires. Nate shook his head and answered his unspoken question, once again reading Eliot's thoughts.

"No, you can't force vampires to change back. That would only have worked, if you had taken a werewolf as your mate," he explained, his eyes wandering to Sterling, who chuckled darkly and Nate feared that he had another ace up his sleeve, but he really couldn't stop him from speaking up.

"Speaking of mates. My challenge still stands," he started and when Eliot wanted to protest, he held his hand up to silence the Hitter and then he continued: "But... well, instead of fighting I might have another solution, one where none of us really loses and everybody wins, especially both our races..."

He trailed off, eyes wandering to Eliot, focusing on the mark on his neck and the Hitter really didn't like the smug smile on Jim's face, so he understandably was wary and nervous, when he asked: "And what solution would that be?" he asked, because he really didn't want Nate having to fight the wolf, not after that fight with Moreau only about a day ago and Eliot still didn't have any idea how exactly that fight had ended and if Moreau or Chapman would come after him again.

But that thought was forgotten seconds later when Sterling voiced what he had been thinking.

"Take me as a second mate, Eliot..."

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to be continued...

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Okay, I'm kind of sorry for that plot twist, but then again, not really, because that's what my muses told me to do. So I really hope you like it. And now I'm going to hide, before you start throwing rotten tomatoes *hides behind Eliot*

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Comments would still be most appreciated *sheepish smile*


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Hey everybody *waves shyly* Wow, it feels like ages since I've updated this, because it has been so hard to write this, no matter how much I wanted to. But I finally managed to write a halfway decent chapter that I hope you will like *smiles sheepishly*

Your comments would be great, if you're still interested in this story *hopeful smile*

.

Thank you of course to **XIII13, AB Feta, msdarque, McCoy's Secret Lover, Quiet Ryter, Jesco123, ulli29, Symphony Amador and dh2930** for all your kind words for the last chapter *hugs you all* They really mean a lot to me *smiles*

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**Warnings: ****SLASH, OOCness, Vampires and Werewolves**

.

**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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* * *

**Chapter 19**

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"Take me as your second mate, Eliot."

Sterling's words once again left the room in a stunned silence and Eliot was the first, who finally broke it with a loud, incredulous "seriously?". Just when he had thought that he had things under control again, someone came and dealt him another blow.

"You're kidding, right?" This time it was Nate, who had found his voice.

Sterling only shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not really," he informed them with a big grin on his face. "I'm simply offering all of us a solution where we all get what we want," he then finished.

"And why exactly should I care that you get what you want?" Eliot asked, still not too sure what to think of that whole situation that had once again taken a direction he would never have thought possible.

"Because you owe me. Without my input and my help your team would never have found you, before Damien had forced you to mate with him, let alone get you ot of there without getting you or themselves killed."

Eliot opened his mouth to protest, but then he closed it again. Because, and damn for having to admit that, the werewolf unfortunately had a good point here.

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"Oh, so you got Eliot out of a forced mating so that you can force him to mate with you?" Nate demanded, cursing mentally that they had indeed needed Sterling's help to rescue Eliot. And if the situation had been any different, then Nate would have been amused at how many swear words his mate knew, because the Hitter had started cursing under his breath after overcoming his first shock. But with the situation as it was, he wholeheartedly agreed with all the curses and he wondered why they just couldn't have things easy for once.

Sterling simply shrugged again, still his usual calm self that unnerved Eliot more than he'd ever admit out loud.

"Come on Nate, you know me well enough by now. Did you really think that I just helped you without having any hidden agendas?" he questioned, sinister smile on his face. Nate growled and pulled Eliot close, wrapping a wing around Eliot, pulling him close again.

"No, I really didn't, but I thought that at least this time you might be able to accept defeat gracefully, since it was Eliot's choice."

Jim snorted, taking a step closer to the vampire and Eliot.

"Maybe I would have if the price wasn't so valuable and if Eliot's scent wouldn't drive me wild like it does. You have no idea how much self-control it takes not to fight you right now, Nate," he admitted, his eyes roaming over every inch of Eliot visible behind Nate's wing.

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Eliot himself had had enough and he groaned in frustration.

"Okay, first of all, I'm not some sort of toy and I decide for myself who I want to mate with," he spat, not ready to be intimidated by those two, who had gone back to caveman mentality right now and he wondered how often he had to remind them that he was still his own person, no matter if mated to a powerful vampire or not.

Okay, a really tiny part of him was kind of flattered that the werewolf and the vampire were still fighting over him, but that tiny part had been hidden away a long time ago, back when his hand's hadn't been clean anymore and he knew he'd never go back to that innocent, naïve kid he had been before. And Eliot wouldn't allow that part to come out of hiding, not right now when it was crucial that it didn't. And another, also tiny part of him tried to convince Eliot that it was a brilliant idea to mate with James. Again Eliot shoved that part far away from his consciousness right now. He feared that this part was only there, because Moreau had messed with his biology by injecting his blood into Eliot's own bloodstream, but he also wondered if he really was somehow attracted to Jim Sterling.

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And one of the most important question for Eliot right now, was how it was even possible for him to take two mates and he decided to just ask, because if someone knew, then it would be Sterling or he wouldn't have suggested it.

"And since when can I even take on two mates, especially from two different species. I would have thought that that would somehow be biologically impossible given our three different DNA's," he voiced what he was thinking about. Nate and Sterling both looked at each other.

"You know it's kind of cute that you're so clueless about your own importance," Jim told him, which only made Eliot and Nate snarl at him simultaneously and Nate tugged Eliot even closer against him. And because that felt really nice, the Hitter decided not to comment on it for now and tell Nathan that he could take care of himself. Instead he concentrated on glaring at Sterling.

"Sorry that I've missed the special vampire and werewolf classes, because I never thought it would be important to me, outside of the basics so that I could survive when working against one of them. I never thought that I'd be the favorite chew toy of both races," he growled, sarcasm more than evident in his voice and Nate chuckled at that. This was one of the things he loved about Eliot, his sharp tongue and his dry sarcasm. Even Sterling seemed to find it funny, because he chuckled.

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Thank god you have two private teachers now, who'd love to show you everything you need to know," he explained and he even had the guts to wink at Eliot, which made Nate go wild with jealousy and he hissed dangerously.

"If someone is going to teach Eliot then it's going to be me, Sterling. So finally give it up and leave us alone," he spat. Sterling only growled back and he let his own canines show for a second.

"Maybe you should let Eliot make that choice, given that he'd be able to save a lot of innocent lives if he mates with the both of us," he said, a lot calmer than Nate was. Eliot simply looked from one to the other and Sterling's words made his head snap up and before he really knew what was happening, he threw his head back and started laughing hysterically, because this was all getting so ridiculous that he only wanted to scream or laugh. That Sterling had tried to appeal to his conscience and his need to help other people, didn't really help.

Jim looked at him with an expression that said "now he's finally snapped", but Nate didn't find anything even remotely funny about the current situation. He put his other wing around Eliot too and tugged his mate as close against his body as he could, his wings a barrier between the Hitter and the werewolf. And Nate also snarled threateningly at the werewolf, who only wore that smug grin that the whole Leverage crew had come to hate with passion over the last few years.

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"Eliot will never mate with you, no matter if you try to blackmail him into it," the vampire spat, pulling Eliot even closer against him, making it hard to breath for the Hitter. And at those words Eliot's already frayed self-control finally snapped. Because, yes, he had submitted to Nate to become his mate and yes, there was some really, really tiny part of him that wouldn't mind having Sterling as a mate, but he was still Eliot "fucking" Spencer and not the toy of those two alphas. He freed himself from Nate's hold, a little surprised when the other actually allowed him to do and he put his hands on his hips, snarling at both men.

"Out, both of you out," he demanded angrily.

"I need some time to myself to think about everything, now that I won't die anymore in the next few hours. And you two can continue fighting like to horny dogs for all I care, but do it elsewhere."

He knew that he had no chance in hell to make the other two actually leave by force, so he tried to put as much authority into his voice as was possible with how weak he still felt, hoping that the vampire and the werewolf would obey.

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Eliot really needed some space, since he really hadn't had enough of that after being rescued from Damien's claws and Eliot still had no idea how exactly that had played out and if Damien Moreau was still a threat to him. Eliot really needed to process everything, now that he didn't have to make an immediate decision if he didn't want to die.

"Eliot," Nate started, but he stopped when he saw the look in his mate's eyes and even Sterling looked a little intimidated.

"Out," Eliot repeated, voice louder, bordering on hysteric and Nathan was a little concerned.

"Fine, we're going to leave, but only if you promise to rest," he questioned softly, hoping that it didn't sound like an order, because he knew that Eliot would react badly to those right now. Jim looked like he wanted to protest, but he obviously also realized that he wouldn't get anywhere with Eliot if he kept pushing it now.

So he gave in.

"I'll go... for now," he told the two, gave Nate one long last glare and then he finally left the room.

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When Sterling was gone, Nate took a step closer to Eliot and looked at his mate.

"I'm sorry about all of this," he murmured, watching the Hitter closely for any sign of a beginning collapse, so that he could catch him if necessary. Eliot sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping a little, some of his anger leaving him.

"I know you are Nate, but still. I rally need some time alone to think about things. This is getting too much and I almost feel like I'm suffocating," Eliot admitted, keeping eye-contact with Nate, so that the vampire understood how important it was for him to be alone for a while. Nathan nodded. He could understand that feeling, but he also itched to be close to his mate.

"I'll go for now, too, Eliot. But please call me if you need help and please sit down and rest while you think," Nate pleaded, his voice soft and full of affection. Eliot allowed himself to smile a little and he nodded.

"I will rest and I will call you, Nate. You are my mate after all," he grinned and took the few steps towards Nate and kissed him softly. The vampire couldn't help but smile into the kiss, especially after Eliot had called him "mate". Then he parted from Eliot, no matter how reluctantly, and left the room, giving only one last glance back towards his mate.

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Eliot gave a sigh of relief when he was finally alone. He let the bed sheet fall and then slipped into his underwear and trousers, before sitting down on the bed again. He really felt weak and resting sounded like a good idea. He buried his head in his hands and let out a deep sigh, wondering again how he had gotten into this mess. Well, it wasn't a total mess. He had Nate now and that felt good, but Sterling had once again made things hard on him.

Eliot let himself fall back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, the words Sterling had said still staying with him.

"He'd be able to save a lot of innocent lives if he mates with the both of us."

Did that mean that he really could save people if he mated with the werewolf too?

Was he ready to make this important step?

Could he really mate with Sterling, even if it meant saving people?

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"Damn it, why do things have to be so complicated?" Eliot cursed, sitting up again. He couldn't lie still and so he started pacing the room, glad that Nate really left him alone and wasn't listening in on his thoughts for now. Eliot tried to order his thoughts, wondering how he'd be able to get out of this, if there was a way out of this, that was.

Eliot groaned and walked towards the window, opening it, hoping that some fresh air would help. He was tired and sore and his senses were somehow dulled, thoughts walking in endless circles.

So he really wasn't prepared when suddenly a shadow leaped towards him from somewhere, coming straight through the window, knocking Eliot to the ground hard, making him dizzy. A solid weight was holding him down, growling low and Eliot blinked a few times to get his eyes to focus again. When they finally did, they came to rest on the face looming only inches above his own, he let out a breathless: "I thought you were dead..."

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to be continued...


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Hey everybody *waves* Here comes a new chapter with a little plot twist that I didn't really anticipate myself, but my muses were insistent *smiles sheepishly*

And I really simply hope you will like it *smiles hopefully*

.

Comments, of course, are most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

And of course, as always, thank you to **SivanShemesh, AB Feta, BetahimeTsukiko, RoseKuran, dh2930, Sunnyluv, Jesco123, msdarque, LadyCK7 and Quiet Ryter **for all your kind words *hugs you all*

.

**Warnings: ****SLASH, OOCness, Vampires and Werewolves**

.

**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

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* * *

**Chapter 20**

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Nathan closed the door to the room where he had just left his mate alone, a nagging feeling that this was a really bad idea. He leaned against it with a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. Why couldn't things have been easy for them, just this once. Didn't they deserve a break? Didn't they at least deserve a few hours to enjoy their new found mateship, even if the ceremony to make it official by all accounts hadn't happened yet. And not even Sterling would be able to convince him otherwise or make Nate feel insecure about what he and Eliot shared. The Hitter had given all of himself to Nate completely voluntarily and Nathan would treasure that forever.

His thoughts wandered back to Jim Sterling and what he had said and the anger, that had ebbed a little the moment he had been alone with Eliot, returned full force. The vampire snarled and his eyes flashed red for a second, before he clenched his fists and went in search of Sterling. It wasn't as hard as he had thought, because Sterling's was the only werewolf scent lingering in the halls, so all Nate had to do was literally follow his nose.

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It didn't take him too long to come to a halt in front of a closed door, probably the room the Elders had assigned Sterling. They had been hospitable, because the werewolf had been peaceful so far and had of course helped to rescue the mate of their prince, so giving him his own room to stay in was the least the Elder Council could do.

For a moment Nate was tempted to just burst inside and yell at Jim, but then he thought better of it, especially when he remembered that Eliot really hadn't liked him and Sterling behaving like dogs over a toy. And Eliot certainly wasn't a toy, no he was so much more to Nate and he was going to prove it, even though the Hitter couldn't see it right now. So Nathan raised his left hand and knocked on Sterling's door, when he did it a little more rapid and loud than needed, well that wasn't too bad, but it helped Nate to calm himself further.

"Come in, Nate," Sterling's voice came through the door seconds later and it was a lot calmer than it had been when they had been with Eliot. The vampire took a last calming breath and opened the door to the surprisingly spacious room, Sterling was sitting on a comfortable looking armchair, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He didn't even seem surprised to see Nathan, but then, the vampire hadn't expected him to be, not after how they had parted ways.

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"Sit down," Sterling invited and it grated on Nate's nerves how calm the werewolf seemed. But he sat down none the less, there was no use doing this standing up just to spite Sterling.

"Do you want something?" Jim then asked, indicating to the bottle of whiskey and a second glass standing on a small side table. Nate simply shook his head, before fixing Sterling with an icy glare.

"What the hell were you thinking interrupting my mating with Eliot like that and then put so much pressure on him?" he wanted to know, pleased that his voice had only risen a little. Sterling shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

"I didn't mean to put pressure on him, Nate. I simply wanted to show him what he could achieve, what we three could achieve if you two allowed me to join your mateship," the werewolf explained, still way too calm. Nate simply snorted and one of his hands clenched into a tight fist as an anchor to keep his anger in check.

"Jim, I've known you for years now and you've never done anything without an ulterior, selfish motive, so don't give me the "we can do so much good together" excuse, no matter if it might be true. This is not the time for your games. Eliot is a human being, no matter how special he is, and I won't let you hurt him, just because you want more power among the werewolf community."

Because that was what Sterling wanted, Nate was sure of it. The werewolf was just one alpha among others and he wanted more, wanted to climb the ranks without having to resort to fighting physically, so Eliot was only means to an end for Jim and Nate wouldn't have that. He was actually surprised when he saw genuine hurt and shame flash on Sterling's face again, before it settled into an impassive mask again.

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"Maybe that was part of my reasoning when I first realized how special Eliot is," Sterling admitted and Nate's other hand clenched into a fist too, anger at being right bubbling up inside him. But before he could say something about it, Sterling continued.

"But Nate, that really isn't the case anymore, well not entirely. I still hope to achieve more with Eliot by my side and reform the whole werewolf community. This, however, has become secondary. In the time I've gotten to know Eliot better, no matter if we've been on different sides and I couldn't reveal to him and you what I was, I've become intrigued by him... and by the end I've come to love him." The words hung in the air and it took all of Nate's willpower to not gape at the other man and then to not attack him for daring to admit that he loved Nathan's mate. The vampire searched the werewolf's face for any sign of a lie, but for once Sterling's face was an open book and as much as it pained Nate to admit it, Sterling was completely genuine. And Nate felt a little out of his depth now, because this made things so much more complicated. If Sterling cared for Eliot, then Nate needed to tell Eliot that, because that needed to factor in Eliot's decision about what he wanted to do. And part of him, no matter how tiny, feared that the Hitter might accept Jim's proposal.

But then Nate also remembered how Sterling had casually put the responsibility for the lives of thousands of humans, vampires and werewolves on the other man's shoulders and the anger replaced his insecurity and confusion.

"If you're genuinely interested in Eliot you shouldn't have tried to blackmail him," Nate snarled at Sterling. He couldn't bring himself to say "if you love him", because that would make things even more real and even more complicated. For now he could try to tell himself that it was one of Sterling's plans... and maybe it was, but the vampire could see that there were genuine feelings involved. Jim put his glass down and leaned a little closer to Nathan.

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"I know this is not an ideal situation, Nate, but this decision is out of your hands... it's out of mine too. Eliot holds all the cards right now and the both of us must accept whatever he decides," Jim started and it was clear that he wanted to say more, but suddenly his head snapped up, his eyes flashed a yellow leaning towards gold and his face scrunched up.

"Wolf!" he howled and transformed into his wolf before Nate had even realized what was going on. But when he did his first thought was, that Eliot was in danger, which was backed up by the fact that there was spreading pain in his chest, nearly bringing him to his knees, obviously distress coming from Eliot. Nate forced the pain down and he quickly ran after Sterling, trying to keep up with the alpha without having to shift for now, because his wings would be useless in the narrow hallways anyway. Sterling didn't seem inclined to wait for him, he simply burst through the doors of the room Eliot was supposed to be resting in and Nate arrived seconds later, stopping dead in his tracks, fear gripping his heart when he saw the wolf hovering over Eliot, teeth close to the Hitter's neck... way too close...

Sterling howled and with a "leave him alone" he charged at the other wolf, crashing against him, pulling him away from Eliot, who kept lying on the ground, watching the ensuing fight between two alpha wolves with growing horror...

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"I thought you were dead..."

The words escaped Eliot before he could really stop himself. And they weren't true, well not entirely. Eliot had hoped that the wolf, who was now pinning him to the ground, had been killed, but he had never even asked Nate about it, afraid of the answer. Now, once again Eliot had made a mistake and underestimated Damien Moreau, because he had actually thought he'd be safe here in the house of the Elder Vampires. He hadn't thought that even Damien Moreau would be crazy enough to walk into the lion's, or in this case, vampire's den. But here he was, pinning Eliot to the cold, hard ground, his greater body weight keeping Eliot quite immobile. Moreau, who was indeed the werewolf, chuckled darkly and morphed back into his human form, still keeping a firm grip on Eliot to keep him from getting up, not that Eliot, in his current weakened state, was a match for an alpha wolf strength wise in a position like this.

"You didn't think that your weak vampire would be able to kill me, El? He simply wanted to get you out of there and didn't care for the rest, so the few small scratches he gave me have already healed and here I am, claiming what's mine," the alpha told him, deadly calm. Eliot stared at the other man with wide eyes, trying to hide his fear by growling: "You can't mate with me. Nate and I are already mated, so there's no chance in hell you can claim me now."

He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt and he really hoped that someone would come to his rescue soon or things could and would get really ugly. Damien's fingers pressed harder into his shoulders and Eliot winced in pain.

"He may be mated to you, but you're still mine, Eliot. I'll mate with you and then I'll kill that damn vampire and you'll be mine forever," he snarled and Eliot could see that Moreau was close to snapping. The Hitter started struggling, trying to unbalance the other to get him off of him.

"I'll never be yours, Damien and if you want to make it out of here alive, I suggest you go now, before this room is swamped with vampires," he started, trying to concentrate and to focus, but his vision kept swimming, because Moreau was so heavy on top of him that it was hard to breath and again, he was still weak.

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Moreau simply chuckled darkly, obviously not in favor of Eliot's suggestion. And suddenly he transformed back into his wolf form, making Eliot gasp in pain, when claws dug into his shoulders, making him bleed.

"You're mine Eliot, no matter if in life or in death," the wolf growled, voice an octave lower than in human form and Eliot, against his will, shivered, renewing his struggles, trying not to panic. If he had to go down, he at least wanted to go down fighting. But Damien seemed to barely register his struggles, face hovering near his neck, teeth grazing the skin. Eliot closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of the bite, but before that came, Eliot heard a voice "leave him alone" and Damien's body was yanked away from him. The Hitter's eyes snapped open in disbelief, especially when he saw the two huge alpha wolves fighting each other.

He couldn't move, no matter how much he wanted to get up, get to Nate and then use those powers he supposedly had to make those two shift back to human form to stop that fight.

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Eliot had immediately realized that the other wolf was Sterling and a strange feeling spread in his chest at seeing James Sterling fight for him with no regard for his own safety. The Hitter winced when one of Damien's claws dug deep into Sterling's side and the other wolf howled in pain. Eliot realized that he still hadn't moved, when suddenly two strong arms pulled him to his feet and he felt Nate's familiar scent surround him. He was thankful for his mate's presence, but his eyes stayed glued to the fight and he couldn't help the worried "Jim" escape him, when he saw Damien throw the other wolf across the room, hard against the wall. Sterling slumped down and didn't move and Eliot had the unbearable urge to run over to him to make sure he was okay. It didn't even bother Eliot that he had called Sterling "Jim" for probably the first time...

Moreau turned towards them, eyes fixed on Nate.

"And now you will die and then I can finally claim what has been mine," he said and charged towards Nate and Eliot. The Hitter felt himself shoved gently, but firmly to the side so that he was about two meters away from Nate, who readied himself for a fight to the death. He could hear the vampire guards approaching, who by now had probably caught up with what was going on. But Nate didn't care, he was ready for Moreau this time and he would gladly snap the werewolf's neck, so that he would never ever be a threat to his mate again.

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But Moreau seemed to have heard the guards too, realizing that he wouldn't leave this building alive, because he suddenly changed direction, charging towards Eliot at full speed.

"Remember, you're mine, no matter if in life or death," he howled, extending his claws, ready to rip through Eliot and Nate stood frozen in fear for just a moment too long. He'd never reach his mate in time, no matter that he started running immediately. Eliot, who still was too shocked to do anything, watched with wide eyes at the werewolf, trying to figure out a way out of this, when he realized that Moreau really meant to kill him. But before he could even decide, two arms wrapped around him, just seconds before Moreau reached him and Eliot stared directly into Jim's face, who had changed back into his human form again and gave him a small smile, but then his eyes widened in pain, when Moreau's claws ripped into him in a deadly attack. He then was ripped away from Sterling and Eliot by Nate, who screamed in anger and blindly attacked Moreau. But Eliot kept his focus on Sterling, who clung to Eliot now, strength leaving his body, blood seeping from the deadly wound.

"You saved my life," Eliot murmured in awe, gently sinking to his knees to help Sterling sit down.

"Why?" was all he asked, an empty feeling taking home in a part of his heart that hadn't been there before. Sterling laughed, which quickly turned into a cough, blood tricking from his mouth.

"I love you, Eliot and that's all I want you to remember about me and maybe you find it in you to forgive me for everything," Sterling's voice had gone weaker and weaker with every word and by the end it was merely a whisper, which turned into a cough. Eliot only stared at the werewolf and his heart clenched again. Without thinking too much, he murmured: "I forgive you, Jim."

Sterling smiled at him, a hand reaching up to stroke Eliot's cheek and with the last of his strength, he raised his head and kissed Eliot... gently... trying to tell him everything he didn't have time to put into words anymore...

Eliot didn't resist, he simply accepted the kiss and returned it with one of his own. Suddenly Sterling's body went still and his hands fell limp from Eliot's shoulder and face and his head slumped against the Hitter's shoulder.

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Eliot couldn't really believe what had just happened and he looked down at the body in his arms... the motionless, dead body. And Eliot felt a sorrow and pain in his heart he hadn't expected and he was pretty sure the only thing that could hurt more was, if it was Nate lying dead in his arms.

"He... he... sacrificed his life for me," Eliot whispered to no one in particular, tears suddenly and unexpected in his eyes, still in shock over what had happened. He gently lowered Sterling's dead body to the ground, hands gently closing his eyes.

And suddenly a cold fury awoke within him, giving him a strength he hadn't known before and he roared, loud and full of agony. Even Nate and Damien, who had been locked into a fight, stopped what they had been doing and stared at Eliot, who was on his feet, hair a wild halo around his head, his eyes an even paler blue than usual, skin as white as snow, making Sterling's blood stand out in stark contrast against his skin.

His voice seemed to echo through the halls.

"You will pay for this."

And before anyone could react and faster than should be humanly possible, Eliot charged at Damien...

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to be continued...

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**So, how did you like this plot twist? *sheepish and a little evil smile***

**I don't really know where that came from, but I quite like it, even though I still suck at writing fight scenes. Comments for this chapter would be most appreciated, especially since this story is coming to an end in a few more chapters *smiles***


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: ***pokes head in* Umm... hi *waves* Here comes a new chapter and I hope you like it, even though it has once again taken me a lot longer than I wanted to post it *sigh* And as things look right now, the story will be a few chapters longer than I originally thought and I really hope you don't mind *smiles sheepishly*

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I really hope you have fun reading the new chapter and comments would be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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Thank you of course to **SivanShemesh, Jesco123, BetahimeTsukiko, AB Feta, msdarque, dh2930, Quiet Ryter and IObichamYaoi** for all your kind words *hugs you*

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**Warnings: ****SLASH, OOCness, Vampires and Werewolves, Character Death**

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**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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**Chapter 21**

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"You will pay for this."

Nathan watched in horror but also kind of morbidly fascinated as Eliot charged the werewolf. Moreau seemed equally surprised at the attack, but he had the common sense to realize that this Eliot, charged with a strength that seemed to come from deep within him, was dangerous to him and he took the attack seriously. But he still couldn't stop the Hitter from slamming him into the wall hard. Eliot simply roared again, a sound that was completely inhuman and made wolf and vampire freeze in place.

"Eliot," Nathan whispered, afraid that his lover was going to get hurt, but no matter how much he tried, he didn't have the strength to move a muscle. But neither had Damien it seemed. The wolf simply stood, pressed against the wall, eyes wide with fear, but he still tried to taunt Eliot.

"You will have to kill me, Eli, because otherwise I'll never leave you alone. You're supposed to be mine," he threatened. Eliot snarled, voice different from anything Nate had heard before from his lover and it sent shivers down his spine.

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"After everything you have done, have made me do, death is too good and too quick for you. What I have in store is a fate much much worse," he whispered, so that only Moreau could hear and the wolf's eyes widened in surprise and this time in real fear, even though he had no idea what exactly Eliot meant by his words, if it was even Eliot he was talking to, because right now the Hitter seemed like a totally different person. Eliot simply smiled and then he pressed a hand flat against Moreau's chest, right over his heart, fingers spread wide. An eerie glow transferred from Eliot's hand into Damien's chest, spreading wide until it spanned the whole torso and suddenly the werewolf howled in agony, before slumping down, obviously unconscious... and to Nate's horror Eliot did the same...

The Hitter suddenly went boneless, falling backwards without moving a muscle. And that was when Nate could move again, the same moment the doors to the room burst open, revealing the rest of team Leverage, who had followed the vampire guards that now stormed the room. But Nate barely spared them a glance, he rushed forward, catching his mate before he hit the ground, gently lowering him down. He felt for a pulse frantically, relieved when he felt a steady pulse underneath Eliot's skin.

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"Thank god," he murmured, cradling Eliot close, while wondering what had happened only seconds before and what Eliot had done to Moreau. His thoughts were interrupted when one of the guards asked carefully: "My Prince, what do you want us to do with the wolves?"

Nate looked at the young man and then motioned towards Moreau, who was still unconscious.

"Put him in a cell. I'll deal with him later," he snapped, gently pulling Eliot closer against his chest, needing to hold his lover. Then he looked at Sterling's still form.

"Make him comfortable here and then us alone. The only one's I wanna see in the next minutes are a healer and Elder William".

"But Mr. Sterling is...," the guard started, but quickly stopped when Nate snarled, eyes flashing red for a second. The young guard thought it better not to argue with his Prince right now. So he only barked instructions at the others and then ushered everyone out of the room. Hardison and Parker were reluctant to leave, clearly worried about Eliot and about Nate, but Sophie took their elbows, gently pulling them out too, after she had said: "We want an explanation later."

Nathan looked at her for a second, but nodded. He knew that they all deserved an explanation, but right now all he cared about was Eliot's health and to a lesser degree Sterling. He watched as two of the guards put a small cot into the room where they gently laid Sterling down, placing a sheet over him, so that only his face remained seen, giving him the appearance that he was just sleeping. Nathan felt a pang in his chest at the thought that Jim Sterling was really dead, that he had died protecting Eliot. Nate would never have thought that Sterling was capable of doing that and now Nate couldn't even thank him for that.

He rubbed his temple and tried to push his thoughts away as the Healer entered the room and together they gently put Eliot on the bed and then Nathan watched quietly while the Healer checked Eliot over.

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For the last hour Nathan had watched Eliot, his eyes never leaving his mate's still body. And he had only kept calm, because the Healer had assured him that Eliot was just exhausted and needed his sleep to regain some strength. He should probably wake up soon and then Nate would be able to breath a little easier. Elder William had promised him that he'd be back as soon as Eliot had awoken and then they'd be able to talk about what had happened.

Right now the Elder had gone to see that Damien Moreau was secured until he could be put on trial. Nathan would have loved nothing less than to rip the werewolf to pieces, but he knew that that wouldn't help the already shaky and strained relationship between wolves and vampires. Besides, Eliot was more important right now anyway. So he sat watch over his mate, holding one hand gently, stroking his thumb over the pulse point to assure himself.

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And Nathan was also still haunted by Eliot's words to Moreau, words he probably hadn't been meant to hear, but with his vampire senses had heard them anyway.

_/What could he possibly have meant by "a fate worse than death"?/_ Nate wondered.

"Stop thinking so loudly, Nate, you're giving me a headache," a raspy voice complained and Nate's eyes snapped open, even though he hadn't really realized that he had closed them at all. Eliot blinked sluggishly at him and he even smiled a little.

"You're awake," Nate exclaimed and pressed a chaste, careful kiss to Eliot's lips. The Hitter blinked again, some color finally returning to his unnaturally pale cheeks, making him look more normal, more like the Eliot Nathan was used to. He tried not to let his eyes stray to the strange red mark that had appeared on Eliot's chest just underneath his heart, a mark that the Healer hadn't been able to explain where it came from. He could worry about that later, now he was just glad that his mate was awake and seemed coherent, even if tired.

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"How long was I out?" Eliot wanted to know, voice still a little unsteady, but getting stronger with every word, which probably was a good sign and seemed to confirm the Healer's theory that Eliot had simply exhausted himself, even though why still remained a mystery.

"About an hour," Nathan answered with a slight smile. Then he turned serious and studied Eliot.

"How much do you remember from before you passed out?" he questioned gently. It wouldn't surprise him if Eliot's subconscious had repressed some of the memories. And somehow the vampire hoped that he had. But Eliot's face immediately turned grim, a sure sign that he remembered.

"Everything, even though most of it feels like kind of an out of body experience. I didn't really have control over my actions, let alone know what I was doing, why I was doing it and how I was doing it. I was sort of acting on instinct, but then again it was more than that," he explained. The Hitter sounded frustrated with his attempt at an explanation, while Nate only looked at his mate with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked, not really able to make sense of Eliot's words. The other man simply sighed.

"Honestly, I have no real idea what I mean..."

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Whatever else Eliot might have wanted to add, would have to wait, because after a sharp, short knock on the door, Elder William entered the room, his timing perfect as always and Nate had given up wondering how he did it and simply accepted it as a fact and talent of the Elder Vampire. The vampire was followed by two guards and two priests. They bowed respectfully and then walked over to where Sterling's body was lying, covered by the sheet. Eliot followed their movements with his eyes and he swallowed harshly, because he clearly remembered how the werewolf had given his life for him. He still felt guilty about that and so he was glad for the soothing hand Nate placed on his arm after he had obviously sensed his mate's distress, felt his wish to be alone with Sterling to grieve for him and to say goodbye properly.

Elder William watched the two priests, who were gently cleaning Sterling's face from the blood, before he turned back towards Nate and Eliot.

"I'm sorry for the sudden interruption, my Prince. But there are werewolf representatives outside, who have made the request to collect the body of their alpha for a proper, honorable funeral."

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It was a formal procedure to inform the dead alpha's clan of his passing and then grant him access to the body, especially after he had died an honorable death, which Sterling obviously had. So Nate nodded immediately.

"Permission granted, as long as they allow Eliot to see him before the funeral," he said without hesitation. Elder William nodded first towards Nate and then towards the priests.

"You heard Prince Nathan's request, make sure that it is granted before you allow them to take the body," he instructed. The two priests nodded and the two guards then took the gurney with Sterling's body on it and they left the room. Eliot was grateful for Nathan's request, because that stopped him from having to demand a few minutes alone with Jim on his own and he was pretty sure that Nate's request would be granted more easily than Eliot's demand.

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And for now Eliot was kind of glad that the decision was out of his hands, because as a Hitter Eliot had learned that dwelling on the death of people he cared about didn't bring them back and there were better ways to remember and honor them than to mourn over their dead bodies, at least in his opinion, even though grief was obviously different for everybody involved. Of course it helped to say a proper goodbye and to see the loved one one last time, able to touch them. But since he would probably get his wish granted to see Sterling once again, he didn't have to worry about it right now and could concentrate on more important things.

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Elder William had waited until the doors had closed behind the little group and then he returned his attention once again to Nathan and Eliot. He answered an unspoken question clearly painted on Nate's face.

"Of course Damien Moreau isn't going anywhere," he assured, because of course there had been the demand to let him go, but the vampire's had refused, since they had the right to do so after the wolf had tried to kill their prince. Sure, there would be a trial, but until then Damien Moreau would remain in their custody.

"Good," Nate said in approval, giving the Elder a relieved smile, which William returned. Then the old vampire turned serious again.

"But there is an important question I need an answer to before we can proceed with anything", he explained and looked pointedly at Eliot, making the Hitter shift a little uneasily under the piercing eyes. He waited silently for the Elder to continue, which he did.

"What exactly did you do to Damien Moreau?"

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Eliot stiffened and then he looked to Nate then to Elder William and then back to Nathan. He shifted a little in the bed to sit up, so that he didn't feel too vulnerable under the twin stares. He knew he needed to answer Elder William and Nate probably wanted to hear that answer too. The Hitter, however, didn't really know how to answer it. So he simply gave his honest point of view of things.

"I can't really tell you how I've done it and I can't tell you why I've done it, let alone how I knew that I could do it at all," he started, rubbing the red mark on his chest unconsciously, because he didn't really know it was there, he simply felt the skin there itch and tried to sooth the irritated flesh.

Nathan and Elder William looked at him expectantly, both impatient for him to finish his explanation. So Eliot took a deep breath and finally said the words they wanted to hear.

"All I can tell you is, that I have somehow banned Damien Moreau's wolf."

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to be continued...


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